SPORTS

A half century of Cayman boxing

‘Coach’ Frank McField (left) and Nayon ‘Donie’ Anglin
(right)

by Alan Markoff

Friday, September 3, 2004

It was some 55 years ago when Dalmain Ebanks, now known as the ‘father of boxing’ in the Cayman Islands, came back from a stint with the Trinidad and Tobago Royal Volunteer Navy after World War II and introduced the residents of this country to the sport of boxing.

Dalmain, or Dee Dee as he is affectionately known, had learned to box during his time at sea, and brought back with him to Cayman many sets of boxing gloves.

Some of the gloves were for adults, so that he could continue participating in the activity he loved, and some were for youths, so he could teach the art of boxing to others, and establish the sport in the Cayman Islands.

Training and staging fights at the West Bay Town Hall, Dee Dee entertained district residents with bouts against some of the resident Jamaicans who had some boxing experience.

One of the young West Bay boys whom Dalmain taught to fight was Ivan Farrington, and he remembers some of Dee Dee’s early fights. “He used to fight this man named ‘Easy’ – nobody knew his real name, everyone just called him Easy. Anyway, he wasn’t easy in the ring, but he was no match for Dalmain.”

Ivan said Dee Dee was by far the best boxer in Cayman in those days, and spent a lot of time teaching the youth of West Bay the craft of the sport. By the time Ivan was 15, Dee Dee had arranged his first bout at the Town Hall. “I lost that one,” said Ivan, “but the other boxer got the most pounding, because I kept hitting him after the bell.”

When the Town Hall wasn’t available for fights, Dalmain and the West Bay youth often took boxing into the streets or in fields in the district. But when Dalmain would head back to sea to earn his living, the sport would often die out until he came back and re-energised it again.

On one of Dalmain’s returns from sea, when Ivan was a little older, the two sparred against each other. “It was the only time I ever really got a good lick in on Dee Dee,” said Ivan, “I hit him one good in the nose and I could see it dazed him. But by the time he shook it off and his head cleared, I had taken off my gloves and was heading home. Dee Dee said to me ‘Where you going?’ and I just said ‘That’s enough for one afternoon.’ I didn’t want any part of him after giving him that lick,” laughed Ivan.

Eventually, the sport took hold in Grand Cayman, especially in West Bay as boxers such as Arthur Ebanks, Buel ‘Rolfie’ Braggs, Dicky Rivers, Floyd Rivers, Claybourn Rivers, Arlington Ebanks, Tony Hydes, Edmund Seymour, Sheryl Goring Whittaker (father of Charles Whittaker), and Buel Jefferson began showing the skills and the interest to keep boxing going through the fifties and sixties.

According to Ivan, Buel Jefferson was even able to give Dalmain a tough match.

By the 70’s, a new breed of boxers was beginning to emerge that would take the sport to a new level, and gain some international exposure for the Cayman Islands.

Toward the end of the decade, young boxers Dale Ramoon and Nayon ‘Donie’ Anglin began competing for Cayman in Jamaica and in the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, meeting with some successes along the way.

The duo also was some of the early fighters in the bouts that became an annual feature for a number of years at Cayman’s Agricultural Fair.

Around that time, with boxing becoming more popular, Donie and his sister organised a five-fight event at the West Bay Town Hall in which Donie fought two fights against a pair of West Bay brothers. The admission was $5 for adults and $3 for children. “The place was packed,” said Donie, “We made $800 that night. West Bay people really liked boxing.”

Both Dale and Donie were helped along by a young boxing enthusiast who is now the Minister of Sport, Dr the Hon Frank McField. “Dr Frank did a lot for me as a boxer,” said Donie, “I really admire him for all he did for boxing. And he had a good left jab, too.”

In the early 80’s, James Anglin, Donie’s brother, also began boxing, and got some training in the United States. He even won the Police Athletic League boxing championship in Miami one year, and also represented Cayman in the Commonwealth Games.

Boxing in Cayman then got a big boost with a five-fight exhibition in 1984 at Pageant Beach featuring noted light heavyweight contender at the time Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and attended by Muhammad Ali.

The sport lost some of its momentum in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but in the late 90’s, an exciting boxer by the name of Charles ‘Killa’ Whittaker began to become a force, eventually winning the NBA Junior Middleweight title in 1997.

With Caymanians following the success of ‘Killa’, regular Monday night fights began at the Islander Complex in 2000, with local boxers mixing it up against each other and against tourists in entertaining bouts.

Two Caymanians who proved themselves talented in these Monday night bouts are Troy O’Neal and Marcus Alexander, who represent the next wave of Cayman boxers.

But women have also begun to make their mark in the sport now, with Jessica McFarlane and Tracey Seymour showing that Cayman boxing is not just for men.

When Charles Whittaker steps into the ring against Chantel Stanciel on 4 September at the King’s Sports Centre, in a fight that could set up an ESPN televised championship bout here in the future, Cayman boxing will reach a new plateau in an event that is sure to become one of the key moments in the history of boxing in this country.

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