An epic night of boxing unfolded during Saturday’s Elite Fight Night 6, when Cayman took on fighters from Barbados in the ring under the bright lights at Bevvy.
The well-attended event on West Bay Road featured eight sanctioned amateur bouts, with the locals winning five and the visitors claiming three wins.
Following an exhibition match between juniors, Cayman’s Spencer Pandy got things going in the first amateur bout against Ashan Miller.
Pandy, who lost his debut in March, came to prove a point in his sophomore outing, and he did just that – earning his first win via unanimous decision.
Damar Robinson made it 2-0 for Cayman, after a slick performance over Jaquan Grant to also taste victory for the first time.
Things started to heat up in the evening’s third bout when Cayman’s Nathaniel Antunez took on Yohance Neale. After an exhausting brawl in the first round, Antunez’s gas tank ran empty – forcing a doctor’s stoppage – ultimately giving Barbados their first win.
Cayman’s Kelroy Jaundoo, who accepted the fight against Barbados’ Nathan Walcott on three days’ notice, secured a split decision win, to the disapproval of Walcott who expressed frustration immediately after, saying the judges were “biased”.
Then came Cayman’s Isaiah Hurlston, who impressed and captivated the crowd after a comeback stoppage over Bajan Wayne Clarke. After taking a beating in the first round, where he received two standing eight counts, Hurlston came back in the second with one task – give Clarke a taste of his own medicine.
The only difference was, when Hurlston did it, the referee stepped in, resulting in a TKO, which drew an eruption from the crowd in arguably the most exciting finish of the night.
“I was watching how all the [Barbados] fighters were fighting; they all go hard in the first round and get tired after … but he is a strong dude,” Hurlston, who improved his record to 2-0, told the Compass. “It felt good. It’s my first stoppage but I’m not impressed because he was winning, so I need to go back to the gym and make some improvements.”
In the sixth bout, a tough and gritty Matthew Thompson, with a bloodied nose, persevered with a spilt-decision win over Barbados’ Cai Reid.
The final two bouts featured the Barbados boxers getting the edge on Cayman, beginning with Kobeah Callender defeating Geno Brown in a split decision after a back-and-forth battle between two warriors.
Finally, the much-anticipated main event featuring Cayman’s fan favourite Ben Vagniez taking on Jazari Narine-Mayers in a fight that lived up to the hype.
From the first bell to the last, Vagniez and Narine-Mayers traded blow-for-blow in an all-out war, and while many experts in attendance suggested that the fight, at the very least, should have been a draw, it was Narine-Mayers who got the nod from the judges.
“This is a result of consistency, my coach, God, and I don’t have friends, so my family and my girl,” Narine-Mayers told the Compass moments after his win. “At the end of the day, it was a team assignment, but we can only fight our own individual matches. I don’t believe my match was hard, I think every match is against myself.”
The Compass also caught up with Vagniez, who was in high spirits after his first loss, noting that losing is a part of life.
“I am happy that I fought my hardest – I fought my heart out,” he said. “He clipped me hard a couple times, I know I clipped him back too … I think I landed the bigger shots in the third, but his volume gave him that round.
“I am not going to make excuses. I’ll take this on the chin and move on, it’s hard but it’s nothing.”
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