Cayman splits boxing card with Jamaica

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 6 November 2016

Chambria Dalhouse earned her 1st career win.

By Ben Meade

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Chambria Dalhouse and Dariel Ebanks picked up wins as Cayman’s amateur boxers squared off against Jamaican fighters at Barbican Beach Park on Saturday night, 5 November, 2016.

On the seven-bout pro-am Fight Night in the City, which saw Jamaica’s Sakima Mullings dominate for his 14^th professional win, Cayman’s fighters performed credibly.

First up was Chambria Dalhouse for her second international fight and first away from home. She met Keron Thomas in a bantamweight bout. Pouncing from the opening bell, the 16 year-old showed her tenacity. She took a few punches but responded ferociously, forcing the referee to intervene and give her opponent a standing eight count in the first round.

Coming back in the second round, Dalhouse hurt her opponent with a heavy right, sending her tumbling backward onto the canvas. After that, a crowd that was rallying behind Thomas for a win was quickly converted into one that urged her to be cautious against the Caymanian fighter.

Dalhouse goes to the neutral corner as Thomas recovers from the knockdown.

Dalhouse was again dominant in the third with another knockdown, earning a decision on points from the ringside judges to take the first competitive win of her two-fight career, rebounding from a hard-fought loss against London’s Tilly Cosgrove two weeks earlier.

Later, Ebanks earned his 18^th amateur victory as he outclassed Alando Lewis through three light heavyweight rounds for a unanimous decision.

Starting slowly as normal, the West Bay native used most the opening three minutes to assess what Lewis had to offer. In the second, an energetic exchange brought the crowd to life. Ebanks maintained composure, exploiting his jab before landing combinations consistently.

Ebanks landed his leading left consistently.

Ebanks landed his left hook consistently.

In the final frame, Ebanks picked apart Lewis – who was a replacement for Ian Darby, the originally scheduled opponent. As the Jamaican fighter sought to inflict harm, Ebanks used his agility and solid defense to keep him at bay. In the end, it was an easy job for the judges to award the Caymanian the win as he sets his sights on the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Championships in Barbados next month.

Alexander Smith also stepped between the ropes. He fought Daniel Hylton in a light welterweight bout. In round one, the fighters traded shots, each landing solid punches. In the second, Hylton showed his experience and used his reach advantage to land the more effective punches. The Jamaican’s advantage continued in the third, as he landed combos with apparent ease at times, collecting a unanimous decision win.

Smith showed improvement in his 3rd career fight.

For Smith, 17, despite dropping his international record to 0-3, he continued to show marked improvement since taking the sport seriously five months ago and can head back to Grand Cayman with his head held high.

Eduardo Montalvo faced the hard-hitting lightweight, Ricardo Carter. After an opening round marked by clutching and grabbing by both boxers, the tempo picked up in the second. Montalvo emerged from his corner showing more aggression but was slowed by a straight right from Carter that resulted in a standing eight count for the George Town resident. Eager to put that behind him, Montalvo sought to land something with power, slipping to the canvas. A welt under Montalvo’s left eye raised concern by the referee, who called on the ringside doctor to check it out. With the all-clear, the fight continued.

Montalvo was engaged in an entertaining affair with Ricardo Carter.

Montalvo, a usually energetic fighter, was a step slower than normal and had his mouthpiece knocked out with a vicious left hook from Carter. Montalvo recovered, as the two traded shots but he was left with too much ground to overcome against a class opponent. It was an entertaining affair that brought the crowd at the outdoor venue to life as they got their money’s worth. In the end, it was a unanimous decision in Carter’s favour.

After the amateurs, it was time for the pros. Jamaica’s Jermaine Bowen defeated Trinidad & Tobago’s Sheldon Lawrence by unanimous decision. The highlight for many of those who came out was a stoppage victory for welterweight Sakima Mullings over America Courtney McCain. The one-time winner of the Wray and Nephew Contender Series put McCain down in the third and then turned his lights out with 2 minutes and 47 seconds left in the fourth of six scheduled rounds, giving his home crowd what they had been clamouring for since the fight started.