Top amateurs vow ‘real fight’

TWO of Trinidad and Tobago’s leading amateur boxers have promised non-stop action when they clash on Saturday night on a promising pro-am card at the Chaguanas Indoor Sports Facility.

Both Caribbean senior flyweight champion Terrance Lokai from the Revival Boxing Gym in Port-of-Spain, and Aaron Cumberbatch of Phoenix, Siparia are confident of coming out on top in their four-round scrap. Lokai defied the odds earlier this year when he bounced back from a six-month lay-off to claim the flyweight championship at the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Championships (CABA) in the Bahamas. He is trained by Rufus Edwards, arguably the best boxing coach in Trinidad and Tobago who also predicted that Lokai will put all doubts to rest when he defeats Cumberbatch within the distance on Saturday. Lokai, a tattoo artiste who has also moonlighted as a baker of pastries, boasts a record of eight victories in 13 fights. His five losses have come against top-rated overseas opponents at the CABA Championships. He holds a big psychological advantage having outpointed Cumberbatch twice in two weeks, in the build-up to the Caribbean Championships when practice bouts were staged at the Cosmic Gym in Marabella.

However Cumberbatch does not put any credence on those two emphatic “victories” by his Barataria-based opponent, claiming that they were not “real fights.” “We were just sparring and practising. The bouts were staged to observe our weaknesses and strengths and could not be classed as real fights,” said Cumberbatch. The Anthony Waterman trained simon pure has an impressive record of two defeats in 17 fights having been acclaimed “Junior Fighter of the Championships” and “Fighter of the Tournament” at the CABA cmpetition two years ago in Martinique. The achievement was a first for any TT boxer at CABA, and was recorded as the only time this has been done at the regional championships by any fighter. Cumberbatch however failed to live up to expectations at this year’s CABA, earning silver in the junior flyweight category. He is presently being groomed to compete in the World Youth Championships later this year. His dreadlocked coach Waterman, states emphatically that Cumberbatch will prove his pedigree on Saturday and dispel any notion that his boxer, is slipping down the ladder. “We had a problem with the practice bouts as the judges were also getting acclimatised with the new computerised scoring system. But on Saturday, Cumberbatch will prove who is boss,” said Waterman.

Equally confident is top female boxer, Ria Ramnarine aiming to keep her No 9 place in the Women’s International Boxing Association rankings, when she opposes debutant 19-year-old Siparia fighter Vicki Boodram, in a featherweight bout over six rounds. Ramnarine of Carapichaima, Central Trinidad fights out of the Fine Line Gym in Chaguanas and is anxious to score a quick victory against Boodram, making her pro debut after five amateur fights, suffering only one defeat. Ramnarine has been defeated twice in six contests and has her sights set on a regional and world title fight later this year. She is trained by Bharath Ramoutar. Boodram looks fit as a fiddle and is trained by both her father Timaldass Boodram and Waterman at the Phoenix Gym, and is optimistic of getting her career off to a winning start. Main bout will pit national welterweight champion Floyd Trumpet against Barbadian Benjamin Modeste over ten rounds. The card is promoted by Fine Line and Cosmic Boxing Gym.