The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Courtyard Brawl lived up to its expectations on Friday night as fans were treated to six exciting bouts at Fusion Superplex.

The event was organised by Bahamas Events & Sports and was held in the cool breeze of the evening on the outside where the action certainly heated up inside the ring.

There was so much excitement that even two spectators, who paid to come in to watch the show, ended up in the ring squaring against each other in a one-minute exhibition that had the fans screaming for more after the two delighted the crowd.

However, there was more than enough action to keep the crowd entertained as the Red team, managed by Meacher “Major Pain” Major, took on the blue team, managed by Jermaine “Chu Chu” Mackey.

Unfortunately, Major was unable to trend and his team, managed by former Bahamian fighter Johnny Hernandez of Beachfront Boxing, lost the first five matches to Mackey’s team until Justin “the Professor” Symonette taught Teron “the Androsian Giant” Pennerman a lesson in the final bout. The two heavyweights slugged it out for the three rounds, but Symonette used his height to out-jsb and work on the body of the heavier Pennerman to secure the only win on the night for the red team.

“The fight was challenging, but I normally fight stick and move and that was the way I praceice. So it wasn’t too far from the way I normally do,” Symonette said. 

“I just had to stay disciplined for the win. He was a bit bigger than me and I knew he had some power, but I had to stay committed.”

There was even some extra motivation with his girlfriend volunteering to be a ring girl for his fight. He noted that after getting a kiss from her at the beginning of the first round there was no way he could lose.

“I enjoyed boxing out here and in front of this crowd,” he said. “I really enjoyed myself.”

The fighter of the night, however, was Kendric ‘Lil Thunder’ Stuart, who out-classed Alfred ‘Ali’ Kemp. A couple of times, Stuart had Kemp in trouble, but refused to go for the knockout.

“The fight was good. The first round, I came out going to his head and then working the body. In the second round, I threw more punches and in the third round, I applied. a lot of pressure.

“With the experience I have, at the end of the day, you always want to encourage people, even in the ring. So sometimes you can take your opponent out or you can go the distance for the victory. I chose to go the distance.”

Having not fought since 2017, Stuart said he really wanted to display his skills in front of the crowd because he was appreciative of all who came and how everybody cheered for them in the ring. 

Fans were also treated to the first women’s showdown at Fusion with Franissa Russell holding off a late charge by Aimee ‘She Ra’ Newchurch for the win.

“My fight was very tense, very tiring, “ Russell said. “I knew it was going to be a tough one because this is my first time fighting, but I’ve been training for about a year.”

With her first taste of competition under her belt, she’s definitely going to come back for an encore.

Also on the card, Carlos ‘Officer KO’ Brown arrested Lloyd ‘Chief’ Green for not providing enough food to entertain the crowd.

“My opponent was a good fighter. He had a lot of literal movement, but wirth me training everyday on a consistent basis at the Strikers Boxing Club, I was prepared for whatever my opponent threw at me.”

Brown, who has been fighting for six years, said he’s eager to continue his dream of becoming an Olympic champion and eventually make a name for himself on the world stage in the professional arena.

Terrio ‘the Ripper’ Munroe was a little too much for Leslie ‘Lights Out’  Armbrister to handle.

“It was tougher than I expected. I’ve never heard anything about my opponent. I had a couple of injuries coming into the fight, but I make no excuses,” he pointed out.

“I didn’t expect it to last three rounds. I think he won the first round, so I had to come back and take the next two. He was a little bigger. I felt his power, but I really wanted this.”

With this being his second fight ever, Munroe said he was enthused by the lar4rge crowd and he can’t wait for the next time he gets to compete.

And Juwan Forbes razzle-dazzled his way to a hard fought win over Jermaine ‘Showtime’ Allen, who was relentless in his counter attack. 

“The fight was exciting. My opponent surprised me. He came out and he wanted it. He put up a good fight. But I was just better out there tonight,” Forbes said.

“There’s a few things I could work on, but I will get on it right away and hopefully next year, I can put on an even better performance. Hopefully we will have even more people out.”

Tommy Stubbs, event organizer and consultant at Bahamas Events and Sportshe founder of BES, who hosted the show, said it was a night to remember as they made their contribution to bringing back boxing in the country.

“This was a very interesting night considering that we only did three rounds of blitz for each fight,” Stubbs said. “Everybody had. great time. It was a good family outing. 

“I thank them all for showing up and hopefully we can do this again next year. Hopefully it won’t be as cold as it was, but we will talk with Fusion and see how we can develop this for next year.”

During the night, Stubbs and BES took the time out to honor two sports editors Sheldon Longley from The Nassau Guardian Brent Stubbs from The Tribune. Sportscaster Marcellus Hall was also expected to be honored, but he was not present.

Two fans also got to compete in a pizza eating competition and there were a few women who took up the challenge of stepping up into the ring carrying the placards as ring girls along with Makeva Wallace, Amber Stubbs and Ashley Stubbs.

The ring referee was Ronn Rodgers of Strikers Boxing Club and the judges were Longley, Stubbs and Danny Stubbs. DJ Ant Andrew Moncur kept the audience entertained, along with MC Kendal Thompson. Richard Rudon served as the sound man.