Friday Night at the Fights Sapper Donald Patrick of 1 Engineer Regiment (JDF) celebrates in the ring after knocking down his opponent Private Coran Chambers from the First Battalion Jamaica Regiment Dateline: Wed. March 23, 2011 The Jamaica Defence Force Boxing Championships lived up to the lofty expectations last week, culminating with some sensational bouts on Friday 18 March 2011 at the Jamaica Defence Force Boxing Ring in Lathbury Barracks. This year’s competition saw seven JDF Units competing for the JDF Sports Board Challenge Trophy. In the end, 1 Engineer Regiment (JDF) outpunched, out-boxed and outscored their opponents to win the trophy for the third time running. Friday night’s first bout set the stage for what was to be an action packed three hours of boxing. Sapper Adrian Mendez of 1 Engineer Regiment (JDF) gave a command performance in defeating Ordinary Seaman Nicholas Walker of the JDF Coast Guard in the Feather-Weight division. Sapper Mendez who had earlier announced his retirement from boxing, showed excellent ring command in front of a packed house, which included specially invited guests such as Mr. William Tavares-Finson, President of the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control. Private Dishane Ellis of the Support and Services Battalion wasted no time when he got in the ring against Sapper Chiwale Lindsay, making light work of his opponent in four short rounds. Ellis outclassed Lindsay, landing quick jabs and connecting with some powerful combinations. Much to the delight of his fans, Ellis’ performance would win him the coveted ‘Champion Boxer’ title, an award he was taking for the first time. The most anticipated fight of the evening however proved to be a crowd pleaser as Lt Daniel Khan squared off against Private Renaldo Hammond in the Light Heavyweight Division final. Lt Khan, son of Lt Col Oral Khan made a good showing against the more seasoned Private Hammond. Hammond came out on the offensive, aggressively going after Khan in the first round. His powerful punches could not hurt the taller Khan however, who made good use of the ring to evade his opponent. Lt Khan showed good defensive boxing skills and command of the ring. He made ample use of his reach advantage, attacking Hammond with good jabs and quick counter punching. But Hammond’s experience and class was to show as he managed to close on Khan and landed key shots to the Lieutenant’s body, opening him up for some swift combos. Hammond’s cleaner techniques and combination punching was enough to give him the edge in a unanimous decision over the valiant Khan, who the lively audience applauded in appreciation.
After a few more exciting bouts, it was time for the highly anticipated Super-Heavyweight clash between Private Edgar Herbine and Private Cass Byfield. Herbine, a crowd-favourite and immensely intimidating figure, entered the ring to much fanfare. The bout had everyone on their feet right from the opening bell. It was predicted that Private Herbine would knock-out Private Byfield in the first round but this was not to happen. Pvt Byfield stood toe to toe with the bigger, taller, more powerful Herbine. Mammoth punches punctuated the night as the two behemoths traded blows. The fight itself was not a classic display of pugilistic mastery, but what it lacked in technique, it more than made up for in sheer, raw, unadulterated power. Herbine slammed Byfield all over the ring but the challenger refused to give in, taking Herbine to the full four rounds. As expected, Herbine stood triumphant at the end of the fight, but Byfield received much applause for his courageous effort. At the end of the night, it was clear who had put up the best fighters this year. Having skillfully contested all the divisions, 1 Engineer Regiment (JDF) lifted the trophy ahead of the First Battalion The Jamaica Regiment with Support and Services Battalion finishing third in the competition. 1 Engineer Regiment’s win was its second since the inception of the new trophy and the third in a row. In bringing the curtains down, Chief of Defence Staff Colonel Antony Anderson praised the courage of all the fighters and thanked the audience and fans who turned out. “Boxing is the sport that goes to the core of every soldier,” he said. “And it takes a real man to step into the ring and do battle in the way that we have seen here tonight.”
Contributed by Corporal Joseph Lewis
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