Champ Sinnette wins at CABA

Trinidad and Tobago began their Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association (CABA)  Championships campaign with a good showing on the first night of the contest at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo on Monday. Following the parade of teams and an address by Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Roger Boynes, the home team’s Michael Springer came up against Matthew Roach of Barbados and with the attention on them they were keen to impress in their light welterweight bout. Roach was quick to mix it up and came at Springer from the onset but the Trinidad and Tobago boxer would not be pulled into this tactic and kept his nerve and his patience paid off.

In the third round Springer gauged his opponent well and scored a staggering blow which floored his opponent. The Bajan was given a standing eight-count but he could not pose a serious challenge as Springer had found his rhythm and continued to press him to the ropes. When the final bell tolled Springer was adjudged the victor and he received appreciative applause for his effort which took him to the semi-finals of his division. The crowd or sore lack thereof which came to see the region’s best amateur talent consisted mainly of members of the boxing fraternity but this did not deter all pugilists who took the ring from giving of their best. In the second light welterweight match-up, Jamaican Shawn Wheatle dominated the early stages and got some good straight right shots in against John Henry of Guyana.

Henry however made a strong case to the judges for the win and combined his stamina and speed to wear Wheatle out and return the favour in the third round. His performance earned him the judges’ nod and Henry recorded his first win of the championships and secured himself a place in the final. Kirt Sinnette of Trinidad and Tobago was the first defending champion to grace the ring at CABA 2004 and his performance in the middleweight semi-final against Guadeloupe’s Jean Pascal Torchy gave a further lift to the members of the Trinidad and Tobago team. Torchy was not planning to make Sinnette’s job an easy one and served warning about his combative style and made the defending champion work for his spot in the final.

Sinnette picked his punches carefully and this gave him the upper hand in the final round where he used his conserved energy resources to score the first win of his defence and a place in the middleweight final. Markember Pierre of Guyana copped his country’s second win on the night out of a match which pitted him against St Lucia’s Patrick Wilson and looked like going either way until Pierre got more assertive in the fourth round and made his punches count. The punches thrown in the first round of the light heavyweight bout between Cayman Islands’ Marcus Alexander and Sheldon Jules of Dominica could be counted on one hand and added character to the evening as both boxers showed uncanny composure. In the end Jules emerged the victor from the patient display which was well received by the gathering.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Nigel Edwards had his hands full in his light heavyweight bout against Aruba’s Evan Nedd, who came into his own in the last round much to the delight of his teammates. However all were stunned when Nedd was adjudged the winner. The seventh and final bout on the evening started off with great promise as St Lucia’s Darius Cetorte, who possessed the obvious height and reach advantage against Gordon Ross of Guyana,  came out of the red corner with a sharp one two combo to draw some yelps of delight out of a now tense setting. The loss suffered by the Trinidad and Tobago team in the preceding bout was forgotten for the minute as Ross settled himself to retort to the early challenge.

Cetorte, now brimming with confidence began to become more relaxed got in closer and limited his opponent’s punches as he searched for the opening. He was rewarded when Cetorte left his guard hanging and was put to the canvas by a swift right hook before the end of the second round. Cetorte found difficulty getting up and when he did he was saved by the bell and on returning to his corner still in a daze he threw in the towel. Ross’ victory means that Guyana won all three of their opening matches, two coming against opposition from St Lucia. CABA continues daily until June 12 from 5 — 10 pm every evening. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children and all schools are invited.  Call 780-8883, 652-0228, 792-4547 for further information.