Andrew Lewis National Novices Championship: Prisoners end GDF’s run as Novice Champions

…Secures overall title

The Republican Gym’s return to competitive Boxing ended in championship glory, as the prisoners captured the overall team title at the Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) Andrew Lewis National Novices Championship, which concluded Sunday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Republican Boxing Gym accumulated 32 points to finish as champion gym, interesting edging the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Boxing Gym, which finished runner-up on 25 points.
The victory ended decades of dominance by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) at the tournament. The army surprisingly did not participate.
The overall win marked a significant return to the amateur boxing scene for Republican Gym under veteran coach Wincell Thomas, whose fighters produced a series of strong performances throughout the three-day tournament, which ran from September 25–27.
Adding further distinction to Republican’s successful campaign, Ezekiel Gordon was named the tournament’s Best Boxer, while Thomas was rewarded for his coaching performance with the Best Coach award.
Gordon justified his individual honour with a composed and impressive run through the middleweight division.
He stopped Police boxer Elijah Burrows in the second round in their opening encounter before advancing by walkover against fellow Republican fighter Noah Beaton.
In the championship bout, Gordon, in the presence of prison top brass that included Director Nicklon Elliot and Deputy Director Kevin Pilgrim, produced perhaps his most significant performance of the tournament, defeating Police standout Shakeel Cox on points to claim the gold medal.
His success was emblematic of Republican’s overall showing, with the returning gym producing winners across several divisions.
Among the other Republican gold medallists were Mark Joseph, who stopped Jason Hardy in the second round at bantamweight; Rodwell Fraser, who scored a first-round victory over Police’s Sunil Parasram at lightweight; Helton Gibson, who defeated teammate Lerone Albert on points at welterweight; and Kennard Smith, who captured the light-middleweight crown after defeating Christian Joseph when the referee stopped the contest in the second round.
Republican also dominated several of the contests involving its own fighters, while its female boxers contributed valuable points.
Shania Benjamin defeated Debra Williams on points in the female light-heavyweight division, while Veronica Gordon earned a points victory over Oriomna Silva in the female super-heavyweight category.
The Police Force, meanwhile, produced a strong challenge and finished just seven points behind the champions.
Their gold-medal haul included victories from Shakeel Cox, Daquan Williams, Anthony Wills, Carl Ramsey and Colin Williams.
Cox was particularly active throughout the tournament. After stopping Jason George in the opening round of their middleweight bout, he advanced to the final against Gordon, where the Republican boxer secured the points decision.
The championship also featured a strong showing from the younger generation during the opening night, with fighters from Harpy Eagles Boxing Gym, New Amsterdam Boxing Academy, Andrew Lewis Boxing Gym and Pace and Power Gym battling for honours.
Harpy Eagles enjoyed success in the junior divisions, including victories from Natham Sugrim, Kayden Corlette and Ryan Cornette, while Andrew Lewis boxing gym boxers Imhotep Vanderstoop, Junior Madray and Josh Chester also captured titles.
Pace and Power’s Akeem Quintin took the victory in the U13 38–41kg division.
The competition brought together boxers from Andrew Lewis Gym, Pace and Power Gym, New Amsterdam Boxing Academy, Harpy Eagle Boxing Gym, Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym, Guyana Police Force Boxing Gym and Republican Boxing Gym, providing an important platform for emerging talent to gain competitive experience.
For Republican Gym, however, the championship carried significance beyond the medals and points.
The gym’s return to the ring was made possible through a collaboration involving the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Guyana Prison Service and the Guyana Boxing Association, paving the way for prisoners to once again participate in organised boxing competition.
The initiative gave the returning Republican squad an opportunity to test itself against established boxing programmes while also demonstrating the potential of sport as a vehicle for discipline, rehabilitation and personal development.