First 'Contender' goes down prematurely

... Gordon cites eye injury as J Wray and Nephew/TVJ show begins

Leroy Brown, Gleaner Writer

There were the usual first-night problems and jitters, but in the end, The Wray and Nephew Contender Series, co-sponsored by Claro and TVJ, got off to a good start at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Wednesday night.

A made-for-television series of boxing shows, which will again be broadcast on TVJ on Wednesday nights for the next 14 weeks, the first night of competition saw Martin Anderson from Savanna-la-Mar fighting for the Yellow Team going up against Raymond Gordon from Kingston for the Green Team. Anderson came out the victor by way of a second round technical knockout (TKO).

The first round saw moderate action as both fighters stalked each other while looking for openings. Anderson, who is taller, kept his distance and used his jabs to score points. Gordon, on the other hand, tried to get close so as to score to the body and head and met with limited success in this endeavour. Anderson therefore won this round.

Aggressive

The action stepped up a notch in the second round as both fighters became more aggressive. In one of the close-range exchanges, Anderson landed a left hook to Gordon's face and he immediately backed away and seemed to be hurt.

As referee Barrington Graham intervened, he blinked repeatedly and pointed to his right eye and the doctor was called on to take a look at him.

The doctor did so and after examining Gordon and talking to him, he advised that the fight not continue as the boxer was obviously distressed. A TKO at one minute, 18 seconds of the second round, was therefore recorded.

Gordon said afterwards that the thumb of his opponent's glove had caught him in the eye, causing him great discomfort and he was unable to see clearly for awhile. Therefore, he could not continue.

Before the main attraction, there were two preliminary amateur bouts and a telecast of the first challenge undertaken by the boxers. This proved to be quite amusing to the large crowd in attendance as the boxers engaged in various light-hearted games which had a serious outcome, as the winning team got to decide which of their boxers would fight first and against whom. The process will be repeated for next week's fight.

In the amateur bouts, light welterweight Kestna Davis from Bruising Gym defeated Nickoy Jackson from Boys' Town and Michael Gardener from Bruising was the winner against Jonathan Hanson from the Stanley Couch Gym in a middleweight contest.

CAPTION: Martin Anderson (left) of the Yellow Team, representing the rural area, punches Raymond Gordon of the Green Team, from the Corporate Area, on his way to winning their matchup in the 'Wray and Nephew Contender' middleweight boxing series, at the Chinese Benevolent Association's auditorium on Wednesday night. - Contributed Photo