“Return of the Scorpio” Boxing: Dharry, Marques entertain in contrasting wins

Story and Photos by Jemima Holmes

Pugilists Elton Dharry and Dexter ‘De Kid’ Marques lit up the National Gymnasium with electrifying performances in the ‘squared circle’ when the “Return of the Scorpio” Boxing card was hosted on Saturday night.
Hundreds of boxing fans descended on the Mandela Avenue, Georgetown venue for what was a fitting return of professional boxing following a hiatus of more than one year.

The Pro/Am Card saw a number of Under-16 bouts earlier in the night to get the fans warmed up, followed by internationally-flavoured amateur fights, which saw mixed results for Guyana.
Arguably the most anticipated amateur bouts of the night featured Guyana’s Jackman sisters; the first of which saw the younger sister, Alesha Jackman falling prey to Jamaica’s Britney McFarlane’s revenge tactics.
However, her older sister Abiola, followed up with a thrashing of Trinidad and Tobago’s Lee Ann Boodram to close out the amateur segment.
Meanwhile, a four-round, heavyweight clash between Anthony Augustin and Emanuel Anderson began proceedings in the professional segment of the Bris-O Promotions-organised event.
Augustin, fighting out of the red corner, hardly had any opportunity to connect with his opponent, as Anderson’s quick steps and decisive blows outclassed “Tony”. When Augustin began teetering, it was his coach who threw in the towel literally to end the encounter, with the victory going Anderson’s way.

Next, a good showing from Guyana’s Terrence Adams in a Super Bantamweight battle with Ricardo Blackman Jr. was not good enough to earn the pugilist his first professional win. Blackman’s sly ability to duck and dodge eventually earned him the unanimous victory on points 35-40, 35-40 and 36-40.
The lone female professional bout saw Venezuela’s Estefania Matute trading punches with Nataly Delgado of Panama in the super flyweight class. The boxers endured the entirety of their six-round encounter before Delgado, fighting out of the blue corner, was announced the winner by unanimous decision.
It was then time for the supporting main event of the night featuring “De Kid” Marques and Colombia’s Luis Carillo in an eight-round super bantamweight bout. Marques, who only days prior expressed his intention to ,Guyana Times Sport to get revenge on a Colombian, did just as he set out to do.

The pair took it easy at first, but soon Carillo became brazen, taunting the Guyanese as he attempted to lure him into his jabs. However, Marques had a few taunts of his own and soon backed them up with a flurry of hard-hitting blows. By the fourth round, Carillo was visibly worn and it only took Marques a minute and 3 seconds into the round to land a firm enough blow that would send Carillo crashing to the mat. Although the Colombian found his footing again, he could not endure the 10-count, resulting in a Technical Knockout (TKO) victory for Marques.
With Marques’s captivating victory, the fans at the National Gymnasium were left wanting more, as the pugilists for the main event entered the arena. In the blue corner was USA-based Guyanese boxer Elton Dharry while his opponent, the Colombian Ronald Ramos fought out of the red corner.
The eight-round bantamweight bout teased entertainment from the opening minutes as Ramos looked to be a slippery fox. However, Dharry found the right groove to land decisive body punches on his opponent, wearing him down by the later rounds.
Both boxers visibly tired, as the bout went its allotted eight rounds, and it came down to a decision by the judges. The result – a unanimous victory on points (80-73, 79-73, 79-73) for Guyana’s Dharry was met with resounding cheers as the curtains came down on what was a night of electrifying boxing action.
Dharry’s win was the perfect tune-up as he readies for another international assignment next month.