Atwell, Corbin lift CABOFE titles

By Avenash Ramzan

Clive Atwell and Sean Corbin were crowned World Boxing Council (WBC) Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) champions last Saturday evening when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control staged its ‘Redemption’ boxing card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
A supremely fit Atwell completely outboxed Trinidad and Tobago’s Prince Lee Isidore to lift the Junior Welterweight title, while Corbin proved too good for former world champion, Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite, earning a unanimous decision to become the new Cruiserweight champion.
In the other fights of the night, Dexter Marques gained a unanimous verdict over Rudolph Fraser in their six-round Featherweight clash; Edmond DeClou earned a similar decision over Kelsie George in a four-round Super Middleweight bout; and Sharon Warde won on all three judges’ card in her four-round Middleweight fight against Kwinda Rogers. In the feature fight of the night, the Trinidad and Tobago-based Corbin was clinically efficient against Braithwaite, winning 114-113, 116-111, 116-111 on the judges’ card. Corbin was the aggressor from the opening round, using his jabs and combinations to good effect, as he led on the cards at the end of the fourth and eighth rounds.
Although Braithwaite managed to land a few telling blows in round nine, the fight was all Corbin, who handed the ‘Big Truck’ his second defeat in as many fights, after he was humiliated by Barbados’ Sean Cox in a first round knockout in February.
“He (Corbin) was the better man tonight. I gave my best, but my best wasn’t good enough,” Braithwaite said in a post-fight interview. Corbin said, “It feels good to win the title; it was a good fight, but the better man came out on top.”

In the main supporting bout, Atwell showed why he is highly regarded in the boxing fraternity with a polished performance against Isidore. Both fighters entered the contest unbeaten, but it was Atwell who remained without a blemish on his record after throwing in a brilliant performance that will arguably live in the memories of fans for years to come.
He announced his intention early in the opening round, stunning Isidore with well executed combinations to the torso. Much of the same prevailed throughout the ensuing 11 rounds, as Atwell dictated the pace of the fight.
On many occasions Atwell could have gone for the knockout, but opted against it. He relied on a tactic of wearing his opponent down, beating him into the submission, and then going for the kill 40 seconds into the final round.