Panama triumph at Gloves Over Guns fight card
Panama dominated the third Gloves Over Guns fight card which was held last Saturday at Stanley Couch Gym in Kingston, after defeating Jamaica 3-0.
There were four undercard bouts involving Jamaicans only.
The Panamanians are known for their speed, good balance and technical ability. They put on a display for the local audience as well as representatives from Panama, Venezuela and Cuba. Panama’s Ambassador Alexis Sandoval was also in attendance.
The first of three bouts saw Jamaica’s bantamweight fighter Vinroy Coke losing in just 25 seconds in the first round to Javier Caceres, after Referee Kevin Stupart determined that Coke could not continue as he was disoriented following a blow on the back of his headpiece. That was the shortest matchup of the night.
The second fight saw debutant Sherikee Moore battling Marcela Jiminez in a bantamweight matchup, where Moore showed spunk though taking some punches and surviving the round. She was saved by the bell in round two after taking some more punishment, even as she counterpunched. She appeared winded in the third round while dropping her guard, and eventually Referee Stupart stopped the fight at one minute 42 seconds after administering a second eight-count.
The Pembroke Hall High School student was not daunted after her first fight. “I really trained hard for it. They told us about the fight a bit late so I was not really prepared, but I am glad I came and I did what I had to and I worked hard. I felt good although I was bit tired, but I felt good in the ring,” she said.
Moore credited several coaches for teaching her the sport, including “Mr Sugar” (of Sugar Knockout Gym), coach Dawes, coach Shrimpy, Kamhal Russell, Sakima Mullings, Daniel Hylton and promoter Mr Yap.
The final bout of the night saw lightweight Arnold Anderson losing to Alejandro Diaz in three rounds. It was a unanimous decision on all three judges’ scorecards. Anderson looked the best of the three Jamaicans although his condition going into the fight could have been better. “It was a good fight. I need some more conditioning but I am proud of myself although I should have done better…but that’s just how it is,” he said.
Anderson thought he had won the first and second rounds and said that with better preparation for his fights in the future, he will be able to do better.
Coach Robert Napier, who prepared the fighters, said: “We did our best.”
He went on to explain that it was hard to find Jamaicans who had experience and were light enough to match the Panamanians, so there was a level of missmatch in terms of the fighters’ level. He described the Jamaican fighters as having great potential and who will improve with better conditioning.
The night’s proceedings started with the four undercard bouts involving fighters from various local gyms. First up was Leaundre Duncan, of Sugar Knockout Gym, who defeated Tajari Hasrrison in a unanimous decision in the flyweight class. Harrison was also from the same gym.
Amateur fighters take on each other in three rounds of two minutes each.
The second bout went to Kevin Brown (welterweight), also of Sugar Knockout Gym, who got the better of Tavoy Miller of Fight For Peace, in a split decision.
Next up was a middleweight matchup between Ramone Chung, of St Thomas Gym, who took out Ajani Douglas of Fight For Peace in the second round via technical knockout, after Referee Dwayne Wilson stopped the fight.
The fourth and final undercard fight ended in a split decision for Jermaine Brown of St Thomas, who took on Tafari Morris of Stanley Couch Gym. Theirs was a welterweight bout.
The Gloves Over Guns fight series will now move to other communities such as Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Fletcher’s Land, and Hannah Town.
The fight card was sponsored by Lasco in the amount of $200,000, plus ICool water and IDrade hydration fluid.