Sixth world title fight in Jamaica comes up Dec 8

Leroy Brown, Sunday Gleaner Writer

The J. Wray & Nephew Rumble on Jamrock fight card on Saturday, December 8, at the National Indoor Sports Centre, featuring Jamaica's Nicholas Walters and Colombian Daulis Prescott battling for the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight title, will be the sixth world title fight to take place in Jamaica.

The first was the Bunny Grant vs Eddie Perkins for the World Boxing Council (WBC) and the WBA light welterweight titles, on April 18, 1964. The second was the WBC light welterweight title fight between Jamaica's Percy Hayles and Venezuelan Carlos Hernandez on July 10, 1965.

The third was the largest boxing promotion to take place in Jamaica, The Sunshine Showdown, which matched world heavyweight champion 'Smoking' Joe Frazier against 'Big' George Foreman, at Jamaica's National Stadium on Monday, January 22, 1973.

15 YEARS LATER

It was not until many years later, on July, 16, 1988 that another world title fight took place and this was the International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title fight between Jamaica's Simon Brown, who was then the champion, and Mexican Jorge Vaca.

It was more than two years later, on September 7, 1990, that one of Jamaica's most popular boxers, Richard 'Shrimpy' Clarke, challenged Thailand's Sot Chitalada for his WBC flyweight title at the National Arena.

Unfortunately for the three Jamaican challengers, they all lost. Grant lost on points to Perkins over 15 rounds, Hayles was knocked out in the third round by Hernandez and Clarke was stopped by Chitalada in the 11th round. Brown, however, successfully defended his welterweight title by scoring a technical knockout victory over Vaca in three rounds.

In the other title fight, the blockbuster Sunshine Showdown, between the two exciting and hard-hitting American heavyweights, Foreman, then the challenger, floored champion Frazier six times on his way to a second-round technical knockout victory. This was one of the most dramatic fights in heavyweight history and a lot of attention was focused on Jamaica before and after the fight took place.

ADDING SPICE

Walters will be trying to break the string of losses by Jamaican challengers in Jamaica, and earn the distinction of being the first Jamaican boxer to win a world title in Jamaica. This will, undoubtedly, add some spice to the Rumble on Jamrock, as he tries to answer the question, will he be able to do it?

I had the pleasure of being at ringside for all these fights, and I still recall the drama and excitement and then the disappointment that I experienced, watching them. I will be doing a flashback of the three fights in which our Jamaican boxers bid unsuccessfully to win a world boxing title on Jamaican soil over the next few weeks, so as to share with boxing fans, the drama of what happened then, as we look forward eagerly to December 8.