Prince wins by unanimous decision on the Avenue

DEFENCE FORCE and national boxer Aaron Prince won his contest against Venezuela’s Eduardo Medina by a deserved unanimous decision in the penultimate match of an eight-card boxing bout, which was held in the carpark of Smokey & Bunty, Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, Friday.

Eduardo was overwhelmed by Prince’s attack and kept on the defensive for much of the encounter. His counter-strikes proved futile against an in-form Prince, who has his eyes set on next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

The event was promoted by the Solange Guzman Caribbean Sports Academy, with permission granted by the TT Boxing Association (TTBA) and sanctioned by the Trinidad Boxing Board of Control (TBBC).

The eight-fight card, which featured other exhibition events in between, attracted scores of spectators as the night progressed. There was a “tiny tots” bout with eight and nine-year-old aspiring boxers showcasing their talents, and a segment with national elite fighters Michael Alexander and Shawn Joseph, who also displayed their skills in the ring.

Prince’s win over Medina paved way for the final match in which Venezuela secured revenge against their TT rivals.

The referee found Eldric Salla the superior fighter after his clash with Andrew Fermin, who also represents both TT and Defence Force.

After a scrappy affair that did feature massive shots from both fighters, Salla won the judge’s over.

The bout almost saw a major interruption when Salla and Fermin had a clash of heads, leaving the former with a sizable gash. Fortunately, the abrasion was controlled and the fight resumed.

The night’s programme began with a junior Under-16 contest, Roshad Khan made a good impression at the start but began to tire and eventually succumbed to the the resilience of Ortega Jukhu, who won when the referee stopped the contest in the third round.

The lone girl’s bout followed shortly after with Alicia King of Cosmic Boxing Gym taking on Shirley Wolfe of Long Life Boxing Gym.

The young but experienced King controlled the contest with her movement and quick jabs, and in the end won by unanimous decision over Wolfe, who showed strong potential in just her third fight.

Nathan Debisette (Biomel) met with Benjamin Stapleton from YTC in the third bout, and using his reach to good use, particularly in the third round, won the judges over with a split decision in his favour.

In the fourth, Stephon Cox of FLFF made good on his debut, forcing the referee to stop the contest at the end of the second round to award him a win, after he outclassed Biomel’s Andell Richardson with patient and measured strikes.

Meanwhile, Rough House was well represented by Sandy Sooknarine, who defeated Nile Mohammed of Boom Bang by a deserved unanimous decision, having landed more powerful and consistent punches.

Rough House was back in action in the following match with Omar Smith taking on Tyron Thomas of Golden Fist. Thomas emerged the winner, again by unanimous decision, after capitalising on Smith’s fatigue, which became apparent by the second round. Thomas, a regional boxing champion, who recently joined the elite national team, was in complete control by the third and was also rightfully deemed the clear winner.