On the penultimate night of the Caribbean Boxing Championships, youth boxer Tarique Hosein began T&T's streak of gold with his victory over Grenadian Henry Sylvester on Saturday night in Guyana.
The Sangre Grande-based boxer was patient, displaying good skills and ending with a big third round to bring in the first gold of the night. Soon after another youth, Tyron Thomas continued his impressive form and defeated Guyanese Jevon Thomas.
Thomas, who fights with a maturity beyond his 18 years, was a cool customer against his opponent who began swinging hard and fast in the third and decisive round. Nevertheless, T&T's Thomas used clever footwork and clean concise combination punches to easily take the gold.
The team stumbled a little when junior boxer Ortega Jukhu lost to Richard Howard of Guyana in the Pinweight contest. Jukhu fought his heart out as he continued punching forward despite being issued two eight counts. His effort fell short and he had to settle for the silver medal.
Local boxer Juan Rodriguez had the crowd in awe as he delivered the best left-hooks of the tournament thus far. He immediately went to work against Francis Sukhu, stunning the Guyanese with the devastating hooks. Sukhu held on and showed a lot of grit but many questioned the decision of the referee in not stopping the bout.
Rodriguez even looked at the referee after he knew he had hurt his opponent. But as the referee waved him on, he delivered another four hooks, all landing clean. The referee was forced to issue two standing eight counts to Sukhu but the bout went to the scorecards with Rodriguez winning by unanimous decision.
Last year's featherweight champion Nyrell Hosein was poetry in motion to look at as he defeated Romeo Christopher of Guyana in a classy display of skills, ringcraft and all-round superior boxing.
The junior boxer, touted as a mini Michael Alexander, lived-up to his mentor's name as he dismissed the commendable efforts of Christopher and brought in another gold for T&T.
Following with another big win was junior lightweight, Blessings Waldropt, who also defended his title. Waldropt possesses one of the most awkward styles but used it cleverly to maintain full control of his bout against an aggressive Mark Crawford.
The Guyanese tried hard to land his punches but the T&T boxer was too slick and neatly ran circles around him. Even a point deduction did not stop Waldropt from taking another gold for Team T&T.
The winnings continued when Denzil Massy made a strong start against Guyanese Emmanuel Pompey. As the bout went on, Massy dominated with powerful right hands, one which floored Pompey in the third round. Pompey got up on shaky legs but was saved by the bell.
The evening anti-climaxed somewhat as the T&T suffered three consecutive defeats thereafter with their novice boxers. However, the display of heart, grit and determination was encouraging for the T&T coaches.
Jamill Joseph never stopped punching after getting off to a fast start against Kevin McKenzie which saw the referee issuing an eight count to Guyanese opponent. It was a blistering pace and the Guyanese changed tactics in last round presented a more difficult target. Guyana took gold in that bout.
Novice boxer Junior Cornwall gave a good account of himself but was outclassed by Guyana's Damon Shakeal. The shorter Shakeal walked down Cornwall, landing power shots to the head and body. The Guyanese seemed clearly more experienced boxer but it was the valiant effort by Cornwall.
Nile Mohammed tried to bring it back for T&T, pressing the action against a slippery Murray Alex of Guyana. Alex was patient, however, he scored the cleaner punches more frequently. Mohammed never gave up and even made a last minute gallant effort rushing in with a barrage of punches, but he had to settle for the silver.