Former multiple flyweight world champion Ria Ramnarine believes she was short changed by the judges when she lost her WBC Cabofe, WIBF, WIBA and GBU belts to Russian Anastasia Toktaulova at the Night of the Champions boxing card at the Jean Pierre Complex on Friday night. After 10 rounds of intense combat, Toktaulova was granted a unanimous decision by Puerto Ricans Hermando Steidel (93-96) and Raule Nieves (94-96) and T&T's Tommy Thomas (93-97). Speaking after the fight, an emotional Ramnarine said she had had a difficult time accreting the decision. "They are the judges, I can't argue with them but I think I've been screwed again, so I just have to accept it and move on. Anastasia is a good fighter and everything but I really thought I had the fight. I kept the centre of the ring. I was the one pressing the action and it's really difficult to understand the result, but bad things happen I guess."
Each fighter began the match cautiously, spending long periods feeling out her opponent before getting into periodic scraps. The fight became more aggressive in the third and fourth rounds with increased physical contact, though there was less action in fifth. At the midway stage the judges tallied 37-39, 37-39 and 38-38 in Toktaulova's favour. Upon the announcement of the scores, Ramnarine became more urgent though Touktolova gave as good as she got. As with her previous fight against Olga Julio in February, Ramnarine spent much of the match playing the role of the aggressor while her opponent waited for her to strike and then counter attacked. Toktaulova lead 65-67, 65-66, 66-67 after seven rounds and following another close three rounds, both fighters appeared confident as they awaited the decision. American-born T&T-national Lorissa Rivas also complained of getting a raw deal after Steidel (94-96), Nieves (93-97) and Thomas (97-93) adjudged American Tori Nelson a split-decision victor in their action-packed WBC World Middleweight title clash."I don't think it was a good decision," she said. "It may have been close but I think I won that fight because she was not landing any of her punches. She had her head down and was swinging crazy and if that's what they need to see to make a champion, that's not a champion. A champion is someone who has skill and an eye for the ring. I think I have more of that than she does, but I will get a rematch."
In the bout for the WBU/UBO World Welterweight and WBC Cabofe titles, the technically superior Romanian Jo Jo Dan dominated an outmatched Iwan Azore of Guyana. In the fourth round, Dan unleashed a series of powerful punches which prompted the Panamanian referee Hector Afu to call off the fight, much to Azore's disappointment. Fighting for the WBC Cabofe Middleweight crown, local Kirt "The Technician" Sinnette's momentum was interrupted several times when the tape on Guyanese Howard Eastman's gloves began to unravel. In the eighth round however, Sinnette landed a combination of well-timed blows that tested Eastman's tolerance for punishment and sent the crowd into a frenzy. In a dramatic finish, one of Sinnette's punches sprayed Eastman's sweat into the face of an unlucky official, the next hit sent his mouth guard three rows into the VIP section and the three blows later, a dazed Eastman fell to the floor. In other results, Prince Lee Isiadore defeated Guyanese Determine Frazier by a TKO in the second round while Kerston Manswell's won a mismatched encounter over Bajan Curtis Murray.
