Romeo pulls off big victory

The Trinidad and Tobago boxer defeated Haitian Emmanuel Augustus 15-11 and sparked wild celebrations among the appreciative crowd.

The fans just could not hold back their feelings and proceeded to chant Romeo’s name, well after the fight was finished.

Romeo seemed to have fallen behind after the opening two rounds of the four-round bout before a sterling recovery drew him level at 7-7 early in the third round and then finally snatching the win from the death.

However the disappointing display by the Trinidad and Tobago’s fighters continued in the first bout of the night as Clevon De Noon failed in his encounter with Guyana’s Clive Atwell losing 17-9 on points.

Looking disappointingly unimpressive during the encounter, De Noon badly needed a knockout in the fourth and final round for a win after being outpointed in the earlier rounds.

He did manage to connect with a few powerless punches to Atwell’s face and body but he found the elusive victory too far off.

Meanwhile a classy John Jackson of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) triumphed over Eliecier Gonzalez of Puerto Rico.

Gonzalez had gotten the better of his opponent in their first meeting last year but this time Jackson got his revenge as he clobbered Gonzalez by big 26-17 margin.

With the win the young Jackson took his tally to 16 victories with just three defeats. He later thanked his father Julian Jackson who himself was a former world champion.

He played the role of aggressor from as early as the first round and earned the nod of the judges after the four rounds 7-2, 15-8, 21-15 and 26-17.

With the result the 18-year-old Jackson earned the right to face Tureano Johnson of the Bahamas yesterday afternoon in the final for a place in the 2007 Pan Am Games which is scheduled for Rio de Janiero, Brazil in July.

Also on Friday, Johnson established himself as “Mr Knockout” by battering Jamaican Ricardo Smith in another fight.

Following his impressive first round knockout over Canada’s Adam Trupish on Wednesday last, Johnson unleashed a powerful right uppercut that landed flush to the face of Smith — who went to the canvas in the second round.

Smith’s defeat also brought some satisfaction to the faces of local fans after he whipped favourite Aaron Hassette.

Results:

(54kg)— Clive Atwell (Guy) bt Klevon de Noon (TT) pts 17-9; Maruez Maximimiliano (Arg) bt Isho Shiba (Can) pts 9-7.

(60kg)— Jewel Lewis (Gre) bt Franz Manami (Bah) pts 15-2; Luis Rueda (Arg) bt Noel Lopez (Mex) pts 15-8.

(69kg)— John Jackson (ISV) bt Eliecer Gonzalez (PUR) pts 26-17; Tureano Johnson (Bah) bt Ricardo Smith (Jam) RSC 2nd round.

(81kg)— Felix Vealera (DMA) bt Glenn Hunter (Can) pts 15-13; Wualfredo Rivero (Ven) bt Palricio Pitto pts 12-6.

91+ kg— Gerard Bisbal (PUR) bt Lequan Carlisle (DMA) Referee suspend conterst 3rd round; Enoch Romeo (T&T) bt Emmanuel Augustama (HAI) PTS 15-11.