The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FIRST Class Promotions, in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC), hosted the first all-female professional world title boxing match in the region this past weekend at the Kendal G L Isaacs gymnasium.

The event was held to celebrate and honour the life of Bahamian boxing great Ray Minus Jr. Also, in efforts to raise awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) disease which the boxing legend has developed.

The first women’s matchup on the night featured Brazil’s Simone Silva who came into the event with a 17-22-0 (win-loss-draw) record. She faced off against Philadelphia’s Oshae Jones, who sported an unblemished 2-0-0 record.

In the night’s first women’s squareoff, Jones emerged victorious after exchanging blows with her opponent for eight consecutive rounds en route to another boxing win.

Jones talked about how it felt to get the win over her more experienced opponent.

“It feels amazing, this is only my third professional fight. I was trying to be careful in there but I was trying to also sit down on my punches and get her out of there but she was a tough opponent,” Jones said.

She added that despite her opponent being a two-time former champion, she felt she did pretty well and her main strategy was to get Silva into the corner and run her combinations although she countered a few of them.

Round five and six of the eight round co-main event were exciting as Jones offloaded a fury of punches in the direction of her opponent.

The Olympic bronze medallist’s strategy was successful as her calculated attack earned the professional boxer her third win to make it a 3-0-0 record.

In the night’s 10-round main event, Toronto’s Lindsay Garbatt, sporting a 9-9-2 record, stepped into the ring against Jaimie “The Miracle” Mitchell whose record was 8-1-2 coming into this highly-anticipated matchup.

The two went head-to-head in the ring for the World Boxing Association (WBA) International world title.

After a gruelling 10-round match that saw both women up the ante in round eight, exchanging powerful blows leading up to the final bell, Mitchell emerged victorious and left the ring as the champion. She talked about how it felt to get the title win in The Bahamas.

“It definitely feels great to be honest to you guys. It feels great getting the title. I was definitely proud to put on for The Bahamas and for my black people,” Mitchell said.

She added that the match between her and Garbatt was very intense. She got headbutted, and her retina got scratched which slightly impaired her vision out of her dominant eye but she made the decision to press forward and focus on her goal which was to get the win and WBA world title.

Both Jones and WBA title holder Mitchell shared similar sentiments on how it felt to compete in The Bahamas.

The latter said The Bahamas is the first place she has come and was excited as soon as she got off the plane. Also, she said it was nice to put on the match for The Bahamas and she cannot wait to come back.

Jones said it was beautiful and thought that everybody here was very homely and she found it to be very peaceful, relaxing and enjoyable.

With the intent of the all-female world boxing title match being held to raise awareness for ALS, which is a body-crippling condition, event organisers said the support at the match was good for the boxing legend.

The disease is known for attacking the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord which results in the wasting away of muscles and eventually paralysis.

Michelle Munnings (Minus), boxing matchmaker and promoter of First Class Promotions, talked about the night of all women’s boxing action.

“The night was really good, the fights were excellent and everybody enjoyed it. “I thought the men would have been a little hesitant to come out but they were out in good numbers,” Munnings said.

She added she was really impressed with the women’s matches and thought they were awesome.

Additionally, she said she thinks the support for Ray Minus Jr was good, despite it not being a bunch of people she felt that the crowd that the turnout was good and it shows that Bahamian people truly do love Bahamian boxing great Ray Minus Jr. The First Class Promotions event was sponsored by the MOYSC, Ministry of Tourism, 100Jamz Group Companies, Nassau Guardian, Love 97, Cable Bahamas Sports, ZNS, EZ CAR Sales, Nirvana Beach, Bahamian Brewery & Beverage Co Ltd, Nassau Agencies, Sun Time, Doc’s Pharmacy, Ron’s Radiator, Original Patties, Daina’s Guest House, Eddie Electric Co Ltd, Heastie’s Services Station, Battery and Tyre Specialists Ltd, and Superclub Breezes.

First Class Promotions will now turn their attention to the British Commonwealth title match which will feature another women’s card and the undercard will feature the men.

The event is expected to be held on October 6.