Dalton TKOs Meertens in seven
- 'Grenade' London outs 'Dynamite' Parks
By Steve Ninvalle
Stabroek News
February 23, 2004
The beginning of the end: 'Deadly' Denny Dalton backs up Edrward Meertens with a right hook in the fateful seventh round. Dalton won by TKO to add the Caribbean Boxing Federation junior middleweight title to the national title he won last year. (Photo by
'Deadly' Denny Dalton was crowned the Caribbean Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion following a seventh-round technical knock-out of America- based Edward Meertens at the MSC ground Saturday evening.
Culminating a night of extreme action on the Hol-land's Entertainment Promo-tion card, Dalton hammered the game Meertens with vicious combinations from the beginning of the encounter and finished off the way he started.
"This was my best performance. I boxed, I slugged, I did a little of everything. If he wasn't holding on so much the fight would have been over a long time ago," Dalton said after his first victory for 2004.
"Since the second round I knew that he was getting tired. I realized that a knock out was in the making so I took my time, piled on the pressure and I was rewarded."
A ferocious uppercut midway into the eventful seventh round signalled the beginning of the end. As Meertens drifted to the ropes Dalton swarmed with vicious combinations forcing referee Eion Jardine to call a halt to the carnage with 11 seconds left in the round.
The newly-crowned champion acknowledged that Meertens hurt him in the third round. "He caught me coming in. I was hurt but able to quickly get back on track."
His manager Carwyn Holland was full of praise for the performance. "It was awesome. We wanted a chance to prove that Denny was a good boxer and we got that. Denny wasn't even worked up when the fight was stopped. He was just getting deadly," Holland said.
With the first round awarded to the feeling-out process, Dalton, a usually slow starter, stepped on the gas in the second stanza stunning Meertens with a right uppercut which almost unravelled his neatly plaited dreadlocks midway into the round.
In the third round Meertens caught Dalton with an overhand right which stopped the Lindener in his tracks.
Dalton later kept up a steady body attack much to the dislike of Meertens, who was saved by the bell in round five after being rocked by solid shots.
At the start of the sixth round a stiff right-left combination almost had the overseas-based Guyanese on the canvas.
Dalton, who improved to 15-4 (6 KOs) and manager will leave shortly for a well-earned holiday overseas.
The main supporting bout was a replica of the biblical battle between David and Goliath.
Pamela `The Grenade' London proved that size is not all when she exploded against previously unbeaten `Dyna-mite' Shondell Parks to become the first woman to win the heavyweight title of Guyana.
Showing total disregard for Parks' imposing 300-plus pound structure, London, who at 198 pounds was out-weighed 105 pounds by her opponent, surprised both Parks and the Linden crowd with her swiftness and aggression to win the eight-round contest by unanimous decision.
Parks, at a lost to find an answer for London's mongoose-like antics, and a shade too slow, was hit almost at will with thunderous right crosses resulting in a huge swelling on the left side of her face.
The two female gladiators went at it even before the bell to signal the start of the first round was sounded. Called together by referee Michael Benjamin to touch gloves a squabble soon ensued between the fighters with the referee thrown around like a rag doll in the centre.
From the opening round London made her intentions clear as she refused to be backed up by the much bigger Parks. London, coached by George `Canchie' Oprecht absorbed several shots in order to get on the inside where she was most dangerous.
Parks wasn't helped by the two points deducted in rounds five and eight by Benjamin for persistent holding.
To shouts of `Boogie Trap' London, showing the heart of a lion, upped the tempo in the third round connecting with several overhand rights which all but parked her opponent.
In the following round the prospect of Parks losing her first professional fight loomed larger when London again took target practice.
While, Parks, a mother of four, kept looking for one big shot to end the day, London let loose a barrage of shots to the head. Judges Trevor Arno, Andrew Thorne and Bernard Dos Santos scored the fight 79-72, 78-73 and 80-70.
In the other professional fight on the card Leon Moore looked in the pink of condition as he secured the national bantamweight title following a lop-sided unanimous 12-round decision over tough Mark `Pit Bull' Dummett.
The shorter Dummett, who gained the distinction of being the first of 10 opponents to go the distance with Moore, absorbed punishment from the opening round but some how managed to stay on his feet.
In the end judges Carlton Hopkinson, Andrew Thorne and Trevor Arno scored it 119-108, 115-113 and 119-110 respectively in favour of Moore.
The anticipated return showdown with minibus touts Sean `Fathead' Qualis and Lyndon `Bony' John did not materialise. Promoter Holland disclosed that Qualis turned up at the arena under the influence of alcohol resulting in the fight being cancelled.
In the battle of the sexes Dirk Archer and Gwendolyn `The Stealth Bomber' O'Neil gave good accounts of themselves. The judges surprisingly gave Clevon Parks the decision over Andrew Murray Jr. in one of the amateur contests. Pint-sized Dexter Wray was a crowd favourite as he expertly manoeuvered his way to a decision over Kevin Allicock of Forgotten Youth Foun-dation gym.
In the other amateur event welterweight Lennox Allen defeated Anson Green.