Army boxer Fermin cries foul

He earned a silver medal which came in a controversial final bout against Cuban Yordany Despaigne.

Fermin lost the final 3-1 to the obvious displeasure of the crowd who were upset at the result.

The talented 21-year-old boxer had signalled a warning early in the tournament when he got passed his Dominican Republic opponent.

He claimed his opening bout victory by knock-out in only the first round of the four-round contest.

Later he performed another demolition job on a Panamanian fighter who, despite the blows took the fight to the allotted four rounds.

And in the end Fermin won the contest by a unanimous decision 5-2 and secure a place in the final against the Cuban.

According to Fermin, he had beaten his Cuban counterpart to the point where blood had been gushing early in the opening rounds.

“Blood had even been gushing on me in the fight but still the referee would not stop the fight,” Fermin said.

He said he felt unfairly treated as the rules of the competition allowed the fight to be stopped when a boxer is cut during the battle.

But he pointed out that while he awaited the stoppage of the fight which would have allowed him an automatic win, it never came and was forced to continue into the second round.

The fight, he said was eventually stopped in the second round due to the bleeding that continued because of the earlier beating the Cuban received.

According to Fermin, when the referee stopped the fight in the second round, they granted the Cuban victory because he had been leading on points 3-1.

A disappointed Fermin claimed he could not understand why the fight was not stopped earlier and why the Cuban earned the win although the bout was stopped because of his aggression.

“I feel cheated of the win and the gold medal and I feel it is because we are a small country with very little power,” Fermin said.

He added that the decision not to stop the fight was a deliberate ploy for the Cuban to win the gold medal.

Fermin has been among several local boxers who have been sent to Cuba by the Amateur Boxing Association of Trinidad and Tobago (ABATT) to develop their skill.

According to Fermin the standard of boxing in Trinidad and Tobago has been rising. He said Trinidad and Tobago possess a number of top quality coaches who have been doing a lot for the sport.

In Cuba he said there is a lot more sparring sessions for boxers as opposed to here in Trinidad and Tobago.

Fermin is one of six national boxers who travelled to Colombia for the CAC Games with high hopes of securing medals.

He said that although the other boxers did not get medals, it does not mean that they performed badly.

“In fact the boxers all performed admirably. They gave their all in the different bouts but just did not get the result to show for it,” Fermin said.