Canadian junior boxers score close victory over Jamaicans
UNDERMANNED TEAM
St Ann Orchids suffered heavily from an undermanned team, with their national goal attacks Thristina Harwood and Rebekah Robinson unavailable.
“What I think worked against the team is the fact that we played without our two goal attacks. We were playing with actually one shooter. We were actually (doing a) makeshift in the goal attack position because Rebekah (Robinson) did her surgery, so she’s out and Thristina (Harwood) is nursing an injury, so we played with eight players only. Two of those players who were absent are the shooters, which was critical,” said Shawn Murdock, assistant coach of the Orchids.
Murdock added: “I must commend the girls though. Without having our starting goal attacks we were able to fight to the very end.”
In the opening game on Thursday, red-hot Manchester Spurs burned St. James 63-33 to record their fourth win in as many games and lead with 12 points. The Spurs, which led 12-6, 24-12, and 43-22 at the end of the first three quarters, were led in shooting by AnnaKay Griffiths, who scored 33 goals from 42 attempts, while Nicole Dixon scored 17 of 22 and Gezelle Allison 13 of 23.
St. James Sharpes’ goals were scored by Danielle Masters, 13 of 21 attempts; Petal Smith, eight of 10, Amanda Pinkney, five of eight, Shedieky Hamilton Barnes, six of 11; and Mischa Creary, one of three. The Sharpes have three points.
All four teams will return to action in today’s triple-header. St. Catherine Racers will face red-hot Manchester Spurs at 5:00 p.m., at 6:30 p.m., it will be Sharpes vs Gaters, and in the 7:45 p.m. nightcap, Kingston Hummingbirds will play St Ann Orchids. JUNIOR BOXERS from the Eskasoni Red Tribe Boxing Club in Canada scored a 3-2 victory over their Jamaican counterparts recently at the Montego Bay Cricket Club, as the Jamaica Boxing Board took its Gloves for Guns project outside of the Corporate Area for the first time. There were also four other bouts on the programme, featuring boxers from gyms in other parishes.
The board has established a relationship with the Canadabased boxing club, and sent a team of junior boxers there last year. Plans are already afoot for a team from Jamaica to visit Canada next June when the Red Tribe will be having their anniversary celebrations.
The boxers who participated in the dual tournament varied in ages from 14-16 and from flyweight to heavyweight divisions. The Red Tribe boxers got off to a good start, when lightweight Ethan Marshall scored an easy points victory over Kevin Brown from Jamaica’s Sugar Olympic gym. There was plenty of action in this bout, with the Canadian being the aggressor throughout.
Jamaica’s Arnold Anderson from the St Thomas Boxing Club evened the score immediately, however, with a dominant performance in his lightweight bout against Canada’s Kobe Peck. He took charge from the opening bell and overwhelmed his opponent. Canada moved back into the lead in the next bout for heavyweights as burly and hard-hitting Arthur Johnson had too much power for his opponent, Robert Napier Jr. from St Thomas, and the referee stopped this contest at 1 minute 59 seconds of the second round.
Flyweight Ashawney Lawes from Stanley Couch gym gave a gutsy performance to bring Jamaica level when he outpointed the Red Tribe’s Braedon Paul Levy, but bantamweight Braydon Leblanc clinched the team victory for the Red Tribe when his opponent, Howard McLaughlin, who was making his ring debut, was disqualified in the second round.
In other bouts, Daniel Hylton from Stanley Couch won on points over Samuel Grant from Sugar Olympic gym, Alando Lewis from Savanna-la-Mar gym defeated Reynaldo Beckford from Oracabessa gym on points, Kevonne Willis from the Jamaica Defence Force outpointed G. C. Foster’s Calvin Mignott, and Ian Darby from the Jamaica Defence Force, outpointed Janathan Hanson from Stanley Couch gym to bring the curtain down on a good night of boxing.