The Rogue Gym is becoming the go-to place for combat sports in the Cayman Islands as witnessed by all the action in an entertaining show there on Saturday.
Six matches of varying disciplines and competitiveness and all compulsive watching. For the price of the ticket there was a delicious Caribbean barbeque and a keg of CayBrew beer thrown in too. The spectators certainly got their late-afternoon money’s worth at the ‘smoker’.
The show was organised to keep the Rogue Gym fighters busy, showcase what it does best, boost funds and give anyone interested in combat sports some fun. Medical supervision, as always, was paramount and thankfully not needed for anything serious.
Lachie Hewitt is the trainer down there and along with co-promoter Chris Dinan they are raising the awareness of combat sports locally, especially white collar boxing and also Muay Thai, grappling and kick boxing. The last full blown show in November was at Treasure Island and it attracted a small but enthusiastic. Spectators left hungry for more so there was plenty of interest for this event. There were no official results but it was nevertheless competitive and everyone who entered the ring on West Bay Road beside Treasure Island was a winner.
First up was a white collar bout between Robert Mahadeo and Anthony Fernandes. Mahadeo was on the verge of pulling out on the morning of the show with a stomach virus but the warrior instinct shone through and he had a great scrap with Fernanes, finishing up with a bloodied nose for his troubles. White collar boxing began in New York two decades ago amongst Wall St executives who enjoyed boxing training and decided to have organised bouts and raise money for good causes in the process. It spread worldwide after that.
Flloyd Moxam has been around for some time and can fight virtually any style. He took on newcomer Amir Roque in a kick boxing match. They really rumbled from the off. Roque battled valiantly but Moxam’s wealth of experience and significant weight advantage were too much and the referee stopped it near the end of the first round.
An exhibition grappling bout between Jeffrey Jackson and James Smith was well received. They really went at it too without getting too heated.
Gary Tierney and Bill McLaughlin’s kick boxing bout was another pulsating affair with both working hard throughout, much to the appreciation of the crowd. That was just a fore taste of things to come.
Local heavyweights Andrew Ford and Tim Coulson clashed in a boxing bout next. Ford, being a fitness trainer, is always in fabulous shape. He had to concede plenty of weight though to Coulson who is a black belt in karate. Coulson had evidently taken this match seriously, dropping 15lbs and toning up significantly for it. They traded big shots throughout the fight, Coulson mainly working the body and Ford using his height and reach advantages to stay away from the big shots.
Inevitably, Ford’s superior fitness told in the last round and Coulson, under a barrage of blows, took a standing eight-count. It was all smiles at the end of the gladiatorial encounter, a great testament to all the positive aspects of boxing.
Flloyd Moxam stepped into the ring again, this time for a kick boxing match with David Kay. That too was a crowd pleaser.
Hewitt said: “These smoker events are replicating what used to happen in the States in the 1920s and 30s during Prohibition. They would close up the gym and for invited guests and VIPs it would be a chance for the guys to compete but in a smaller environment. It was like a bridging gap between regular sparring and a big event.
“The feedback has been great. We had a good turnout, probably about 2,000! Actually about 50 or 60 but it was exactly what we wanted, to showcase a few things in not so big an environment and profile the gym as well. We could easily do this every two months.”
Related Videos
