‘Baba’ Simmons stays in his cradle
-fails to show up for clash with Bazilio
By Steve Ninvalle
Stabroek News
April 22, 2003
Ivor `Baba’ Simmons turned out to be just what his pseudonym implies as he failed to abandon the comfort of his cradle and put in an appearance for the much hyped grudge boxing match against Keith `Buck’ Bazilio at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall Sunday evening.
The scheduled fight was to be the main bout on a card promoted by Cecil `Koker Dog’ Alfred and `Piggy’ Griffith to showcase boxing talent of the past.
However, Simmons absence, which annulled the event did not put much of a damper on the night’s proceedings as the other ‘Old Timers’ especially a gallant Roy Smith, rose to the occasion to provide an evening of entertainment for spectators.
Reports reaching Stabroek News indicate that Simmons got cold-feet soon after the 50-year-old Bazilio unleashed a verbal assault on him in a recent issue of Stabroek Sport promising to beat Simmons like a drum.
A visibly upset Bazilio was adamant that his opponent was running scared. “As I said before Simmons is a scared baby. He knows that he would have been whipped. I had planned giving the crowd at least two rounds of very entertaining fighting,” Bazilio said.
“He knows that I hit very hard and he ran before I could get a chance to lay my hands on him. I just want to apologised to the crowd for the fight not coming of tonight but it’s not my fault. I’m here and he is not,” Bazilio added.
However, Bazilio, a promoter and former professional fighter claimed that the buck does not stop there. He pledged that Simmons could “run but can’t hide.”
“It isn’t over. There are other cards coming up and I’m bound to catch him.”
In the opening bout of the card a dapper Roy Smith rolled back the years to win a unanimous decision over the taller Leslie Ford in a light heavyweight contest.
To the excitement of the crowd Smith, who is touching 50, wobbled Ford twice in the four-round contest. Urged on by shouts of “guh down stairs short man” Smith switched his attack to Forde’s midsection in the third round which yielded some measure of success.
In one of three catch weight contests Dennis Mackenzie took the `Down Memory Lane’ title seriously and even sported attire from an era of yore when he clashed with Maxi `Street Fighter’ Sergeant.
Instead of the usual boxing footwear, Mackenzie opted for a Converse All Star sneaker which was a big hit in the early 70s. In his low-cut boots Mackenzie looked more the street fighter as he wrestled the more skillful but weaker Sergeant for most of the four-round event.
In the end the judges gave Mackenzie the victory by a majority decision.
Former national junior welterweight champion Linden ‘Buckman’ Mortley, whose recently acquired inches around the waist may pose a serious threat to the welfare of local tyre dealers, was the better boxer against Dennis `Kid’ Dalrymple in a crusierweight encounter.
But in a surprising move Dalrymple was adjudged the winner. A gangly Ovid Jack needed only two rounds to dispatch Grimmon Ali, who at 146-pounds was 10 pounds heavier.
In the first round the two engaged in rough-house tactics which belied their age but by the following stanza both parties showed signs of fatigue.
Midway into the second round the greying Jack dropped Ali who failed to beat the count given by referee Eion Jardine. It was the only knockout of the card.
The bout between Cecil `Koker Dog’ Alfred and Leroy Lewis had the potential of being the fight of the card before it was ruled a no contest when the clean shaven heads of the fighters collided within two minutes of the first round.
The clash of heads resulted in Lewis sustaining a cut under his left eye and subsequent halting of the fight on the advise of ring side doctor Dennis Dookan. In the last bout of the card Guyana’s only Olympic medalist Michael Anthony Parris won a unanimous decision over Winston Goodridge in a tame affair.
