Atwell, Mullings are CABOFE champs – Dharry, Austin lift local titles

By Avenash Ramzan –

With the Princess Hotel towering in the background and the swimming pool adding to the tranquil ambience, a fair-sized crowd was treated to an exhibition of classical boxing last  Saturday evening when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) staged its “Firestorm” boxing card at the Princess Hotel and Casino.
At the end of the seven-fight card in the wee hours of Sunday, four men etched their names into the annals of boxing history, becoming World Boxing Council (WBC)/Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) and local champions.
Touted as Guyana’s next world champion, Clive “The Punisher” Atwell, delivered on a promise to “tear up” his rival Rafael “El Potro” Hernandez, leaving the bloodied 30-year-old Venezuelan with two cuts above the right eye, which later required 14 stitches.

In the process, the 24-year-old Atwell was crowned the new WBC/CABOFE featherweight champion, a belt that has earned him direct entry into the lucrative WBC Cup of Champions, slated to start in June this year.
However, Atwell’s compatriot, Howard “Battersea Bomber” Eastman, was not that successful, losing to Jamaica’s Sakima Mullings, who is now the new WBC/CABOFE welterweight champion.
Earlier in the evening, Elton “The Bully” Dharry gained a third round TKO win over Orlon “Pocket Rocket” Rogers to lift the bantamweight title of Guyana; Mark Austin was crowned the national junior middleweight champion following a split decision win over Gladwyn Dorway, and Mahmoud “The Extractor” Loul and Derek Richmond fought to a draw in their four-round super middleweight clash.
Two amateur fights also formed part of the card, with Guyana Defence Force’s pugilists Quincy Boyce and Candacy Benjamin prevailing over the Rose Hall Jammers pair of Keron Griffith and Akesia Arokium respectively.
New title holders
In the night’s feature attraction, Atwell emerged with a unanimous decision verdict over Hernandez with judges McKenzie Granger of Trinidad and Tobago, Nicolas Hidaigo of Venezuela and Eion Jardine of Guyana all scoring in his favour: 118-112, 119-110, 116-113.
Atwell, who later dubbed Hernandez “the toughest guy I’ve ever fought”, improved his record to 10 wins from 11 fights with one draw, while his Spanish-speaking rival slipped to four losses, 15 wins and two draws.
Atwell’s speed, accuracy and ability to take a punch, worked to his advantage, as he was consistently forced to withstand Hernandez’s left jabs, which were consistent throughout the 12-round contest.
While Atwell was able to counterattack everything Hernandez threw at him, he landed a decisive blow in round six that arguably changed the complexion of the fight.
When Hernandez stood at the start of round seven, a small band of supporters started whistling and cheering him on, but they were living in more hope than anything else as Atwell proceeded to dominate the remainder of the fight.
In the main supporting bout, youth prevailed over experience as the 30-year-old Mullings proved too hot to handle for the 42-year-old Eastman.
From the opening round, Mullings’ combinations were more effective and impactful, forcing Eastman to resort to a defensive approach from the onset.
Eastman, who is usually a late starter, never really got going, and was always playing catch-up on the judges’ card. At the end of the fourth round, all three judges had it 39-38 in favour of Mullings, while at the end of round eight, Mullings was still ahead on all three cards: 78-74, 78-74, 77-75.
After the contest ended 118-110, 117-111, 116-112, Mullings called out former world champion, Andrew “Six Head” Lewis, adding that a victory against him would only serve to enhance his profile as a budding international boxer. Mullings’ victory took him to 12 wins (seven KOs) and one draw.
Questioned on his performance, Eastman said “my timing was really off tonight”, adding that it’s now time “to go back to the drawing board.” The defeat was Eastman’s 12th of his illustrious 58-fight career.
In the other two title fights, Dharry pounded Rogers in a shortened contest, while Austin earned a hard-fought split decision over Dorway.
The 27-year-old Dharry, who dominated proceedings, had hardly broken a sweat when the 38-year-old Rogers pulled up with a hamstring injury in round three and had to be lifted out of the arena.
While Dharry improved to 13-5-1, the diminutive journeyman Rogers’ uninspiring record now stands at five wins and 16 defeats.