Youth prevailed over experience on Friday evening, September 23, when 24-year-old Simeon “Candyman” Hardy dished out a whipping on 32-year-old Winston Pompey in the main bout of the 18th monthly ProAm boxing card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The two faced each other in a junior middleweight title eliminator on a ProAm Friday Night Fights (FNF) card promoted by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) in collaboration with the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Simeon “Candyman” Hardy
Also in winner’s row were Troy Lewis and Charlton Skeete, who both chalked up majority decisions victories over the debuting pair of Kelsie George and Shaheid Alli respectively; while Barbados’s Miguel Antoine and his Guyanese opponent Jermaine King fought to an exciting draw.
In the feature contest, Pompey threw jabs as he took the fight to his younger opponent, who refused to back down and responded with jabs and mild uppercuts of his own, even throwing one from outside, which glanced off Pompey’s chin.
The start of the second round must have surprised both Pompey and his corner crew, which included national heavyweight and light heavyweight champions in Kurt Bess and Kwesi Jones, as Hardy went on the attack from the sound of the bell, pushing Pompey onto the ropes.
With nowhere to go, Pompey used his jab to keep off Hardy; but when he let his guard down, the “Candyman’s” left hand rocketed to the chin of Pompey and transported him to the canvas.
When Referee Franklyn Brisport, who was officiating in his 50th professional fight, reached the count of six, Pompey made attempts to rise, but the impact of the punch took its toll on his legs, which became wobbly, forcing him to retreat to the canvas while Hardy celebrated on the ropes with his throng of supporters.
In the amateur segment of the night’s action, Richard Williamson of Pocket Rocket Gym and Marlon Daryl of Ricola forced the referee to stop their respective bouts in the first round against Branco Gouveia (Harpy Eagles) and Kishawn Simon of Pocket Rocket Gym.
Guyana Defence Force’s Kevin David scored a 2-1 victory over Travis Fraser of Tiger Eye; while Akeem Daniels, who was fighting out of the Harpy Eagles Gym, had his 2-1 decision win over Dewani Lampkin of Forgotten Youth Foundation reversed following a protest from Lampkin’s corner.
