In front of a number of boxing lovers at the Giftland Mall parking lot; United States veteran, DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley stunned the nation when he edged past Dexter ‘Cobra’ Gonsalves to win the World Boxing Council’s Fecarbox title in the 12-round affair.
The hype was already set heading in to the match with four captivating cards. Gonsalves entered the match as a favourite, being only 27-years-old and having an impressive record. On the other hand, Corley was a veteran of 75 fights having faced the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr and Miguel Cotto.
In the first round, both boxers were watchful of each other but the speed of the younger boxer proved to be a factor. Gonsalves jabbed well, using his reach to good effect and connected to the his opponent’s face with a solid right hand as Corley took to the mat wi
DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley
th a surprised look on his face.
The second round started in similar fashion but the third round saw Corley going down to a right hand punch, sending the crowd into a tantrum.
However, Corley rebounded in the fourth round showing the Guyana crowd why he was a world rated fighter. Halfway through the fight, Gonsalves was sent to the mat by Corley but that did not keep the hometown boy down for long backing up Corley a few times into the ropes and landing good body shots.
The highlight of round eight saw a beautiful upper cut seconds before the round ended. Entering the ninth round, both boxers showed signs of tiredness and the younger fighter used it to his advantage finding Corley’s face consistently.’
The final three rounds saw the contenders showing the effect of expounding their energies but it was the experience of Corley that proved to be one of the deciding factors.
In a questionable decision, the judges pronounced Corley the new WBC Fecarbox title holder in a 115-110, 113-112 and 113-113.
Several boxing pundits and fans noted that it was a tough call but adamantly proclaimed Gonslaves could have walked away with a draw.
In the other contests, it looked as if the regional boxers were dominating the locals.
Jamaican powerhouse, Richard Holmes was booked to fight Guyanese, Mark Austin in an eight round match, but Austin did not last the full rounds, taking a knockout one minute fifty-two seconds into round two. Holmes said it is what he came to do and executed perfectly, attributing his success to constantly being in the gym while Austin blamed a slippery boots and poor preparation ahead of the fight.
Austin added that his circumstances, having to work three jobs, was proving burdensome on his career and only being his first fight of the year.
In the match dubbed to be a grudge match, Quincy Gomes once again prevailed over Imran Khan in the six-round contest.
Khan’s stamina was once again a factor but improved on his general game. Khan started off watchful wearing down his opponent into the fourth round but Gomes bounced back in the fifth round to floor the six foot fighter moments before the bell rang. Khan returned in the final round and threw in some solid jabs and landed a number of body shots.
Khan stated after the fight that this is not the end and will return to his roots and work harder pushing in some good fights and building his way back to being on top of the sport he loves.
Kelsey George is still to come off the mark and register a win as he suffered defeat at the hands of Barbadian, Charwin Eswick.
In the opening fight of the night, Anthony Narine was declared the winner following what was deemed an illegal punch by his opponent, Keeve Alicock.
