The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AS the promoter and main combatant in the ring, Meacher 'Major Pain' Major knew that the success of his King of the Ring Series would depend on how he performed against veteran American Jeff Schuyler at the Kendal Isaacs gym Saturday night. From all indications, he passed the test in flying colours. He deserves a B for both his promotional efforts and his performance in the ring. Not bad for his Major Promotions & Entertainment in conjunction with Caribbean Fight Order. "I felt great. First of all, I want to thank the Almighty. I also want to thank the fight fans and my family and everybody involved, especially my trainer Mr Nathaniel Knowles, Cassius Moss, Big Blue (Delvin Scott), Kirkwood Greene and Jeff," said Major after he put a licking on Schuyler for the second time in their careers. "Things are looking pretty good from here on." This was the second time that Major's promotional company has hosted a show. The last one was on November 8 at the Nassau Stadium where Major stopped Alex Perez in the third round. Major, 30, was forced to bring in 46-year-old Schuyler from Lake Worth, Florida, on a two-day notice after a previous opponent pulled out. It was a rematch of their May 20, 2005 showdown at the Wyndham resort where Major pulled off a second round technical knockout. Improving his record to 20-4-1 with his fourth straight victory, Major made sure that Schuyler - who dropped to 4-18-1 - didn't ruin his plans for the resurrection of pro boxing in the country. "It was great...I knew I couldn't take him lightly," said Major, who pounded his opponent so hard with his quick hands that he left him with cuts on his forehead and over his left eye. "People said 'hey why I fighting this old guy' but hey, you're never too old to be fighting in this sport. I'm just grateful that he came down and took the fight on such short notice, due to the few cancellations that I had. Things just look bright for the future." Despite the 16-year difference in age and seven year span since they initially met, the fans got a great treat from the two lightweight fighters, who in the first three rounds absorbed everything that they threw at each other and beckoned to come back with more. But it was in the fourth round that Major turned up the heat. With blood continuously pouring down the face of Schuyler, Major decided to end the agony and while pinning his opponent on the rope, he unleashed a flurry of punches. Referee Mathew Rolle stepped in to administer the mandatory standing eight count but Schuyler, obviously too weary to continue, tried to hold on. Rolle, however, raised his hand, signaling the end. A resilient Schuyler, however, wanted to continue. "The fight fans have been about 85 per cent of my energy in the ring," said Major, who came out wearing a crown on his head, indicating his commitment to being the 'King of the Ring' in the Bahamas. "Boxing is back," he added. Major, whose corner advised him not to take his opponent out too early, said he intends to go back to Buffalo, New York, where his training site is based and eventually prepare for a British Commonwealth title eliminator on March 31. Schuyler, on the other hand, said despite the fact that he didn't have sufficient time to train, he was delighted to be back in the Bahamas. He felt he put up a gallant effort until Major's quick hands were too much for him to handle. "I'm going to fight for the crowd, win or lose, they know that I'm going to fight," Schuyler stated. "But hey, the guy's a warrior. He won. He knocked me down, he cut me up, but I could have kept going if the referee didn't stop the fight. " Although he got cut in the second round, Schuyler said he wasn't aware of exactly when it occurred. He just kept trying to stay in the match for as long as he could. In the co-main event, it was a grudge rematch between Dencil 'Death' Miller and Richard 'the Hammer' Pitt. While the two slugged it out in the first round, things started to turn in Miller's favour in the second round after Pitt experienced some problems with his shoes. He eventually had to have it taped up but he didn't have the kind of footing that allowed him to go toe to toe with Pitt. "You might think I'm talking foolishness but honesty, I had two days of training for this," said Pitt, who thanked Ray Minus Jr for getting him ready. "If that was a name brand fighter, I would have had to be in the gym more regularly. "But that was a no name brand fighter, so I didn't have to spend that much time in the gym." Fans were quite pleased with what transpired in those two fights but many were disappointed in the first pro bout that saw Lester Brown make his debut against veteran Anthon Ward in a bantamweight affair. From the moment he walked out of the locker room, it appeared as if Ward was in no position to take on the young and aggressive Brown and that's exactly how it panned out in the ring. As soon as Brown attacked, Ward just stood there and got pounded before referee Matthew Rolle called it off 1:03 into the round. "Thanks to my coach, who worked me out hard. He's a good fighter, but we came out and did what we had to do," said the 16-year-old Brown, who admitted that he decided to turn pro after he felt he wasn't getting sufficient fights to push his amateur career any further. "You can expect a Bahamas champion in the next year or two." There was a mixed martial art fight between 'Smokey' Ronald Martin and Herbert 'the CEO' Heastie that proceeded the pro show. It didn't last the three rounds after Martin took down Heastie in the first round. "The fight was a good fight, but the guy who I fought tonight wasn't the guy who I should have fought," he said. "He stepped up because the other guy didn't want to fight me. But I commend him for stepping up to the plate. He's not a name brand fighter like me. "The fight lasted a little longer than I expected. I just wanted to get in and out, but the guy was tough. I didn't use that much striking because I knew he wasn't ready for it. So I just tried to hold him and power him more to get it over with." The show opened up with a Champion Amateur Boxing Club exhibition between some of their amateur boxers.