On Monday night at Amsterdam’s Theater Carré, Angelo Morejon and Willy Kyakonye were not the only boxers to showcase their skills. The main event was preceded by seven undercard bouts that provided plenty of excitement, whetting the spectators’ appetite for boxing ahead of the night’s main attraction. In this article, we bring you a ringside account of everything we witnessed during the Ben Bril Memorial, organized by Hans de Brujin, before the WBC Silver bridgerweight title fight that we have already covered in detail (click here for our report on Kyakonye vs. Morejon).
Jahfaro Gezius (Netherlands) defeats Maroane Elkass (Netherlands) by TKO 1 – 76 kg
The opening bout of the event lasted just two minutes. Gezius, a Dutch boxer of Surinamese origin, got off to an excellent start and immediately put debutant Elkass in trouble. While trying to evade his opponent’s attacks, Elkass experienced back pain, possibly caused by a sudden twisting movement of his torso. The referee had to stop the fight for the first time when Elkass, overwhelmed by the pain, turned his back on his opponent, before eventually declaring a technical knockout when the problem occurred again.
Anes Kurbardovic (Netherlands) defeats Toni van der Ven (Netherlands) by TKO 1 – 76 kg
The second fight of the evening also ended very quickly. Van der Ven had no answer to Kurbardovic’s relentless assaults, as the latter applied suffocating pressure from the opening bell and gave his opponent no chance. The punch that did the most damage was the right hook to the temple, which Van der Ven was almost never able to avoid. After three knockdowns, the referee rightly brought the one-sided contest to an end.
Jason Wilnis (Netherlands) defeats Denzel Oosterwolde (Netherlands) by UD (4 rounds) – 88 kg
The two boxers adopted completely contrasting styles in the early stages of the fight. Oosterwolde threw an enormous volume of punches, none of them particularly powerful, while Wilnis was content to defend himself and contain his opponent before occasionally unleashing heavily loaded shots.
Wilnis only really “woke up” toward the end of the second round, before producing much more convincing performances in the third and fourth. Our impression is that a draw would have been more consistent with the overall dynamics of the fight, although Wilnis’s victory was certainly no robbery.
Kian Terwint (Netherlands) defeats Kevin de Jesus Valenzuela Ramos (Mexico) by UD (6 rounds) – 55 kg
A very convincing performance from 20-year-old Terwint, who, in terms of potential, struck us as the most interesting boxer on the entire undercard. His excellent hand speed, combined with superb footwork, made life extremely difficult for his opponent right from the start.
After an overly passive opening, De Jesus tried everything at his disposal, but Terwint consistently beat him to the punch. For every shot the Mexican managed to land, he found himself on the receiving end of three or four in return. During the final two rounds, Terwint became slightly less mobile, but even when standing directly in front of his opponent, he continued to get the better of the exchanges and was deservedly awarded a wide victory by the judges.
Kilat Hallie (Netherlands) defeats Mate Lakatos (Hungary) by TKO 2 – 91 kg
This was hardly a meaningful test for Hallie, who had things entirely his own way against a Lakatos far too limited to offer any serious resistance. The Hungarian struggled throughout the opening round before being knocked down twice in the second, both times by left uppercuts to the body. The defeated boxer complained that he had been hit in the back, but from our vantage point, Hallie’s punches appeared perfectly legal.
Mike Horn (Netherlands) defeats Diego Gonzales Ramos (Mexico) by UD (6 rounds) – 72.5 kg
A clear and undisputed victory for the muscular Dutch middleweight who, despite lacking fluidity and coordination in his movements, proved superior to his opponent in terms of punching effectiveness and sustained activity.
The opening rounds were actually quite competitive, as Horn took some time to find his rhythm, allowing Gonzales to remain in contention despite adopting an overly passive approach that prevented him from taking control. From midway through the third round, however, the hometown fighter found his groove and firmly took command of the contest. Gonzales’s vehement protests when the verdict was announced seemed completely unjustified to us.
Anes Kurbardovic defeats Jahfaro Gezius by UD (4 rounds) – 76 kg
The final undercard bout brought together the evening’s first two winners, who faced each other in the final of their mini-tournament and put on a thrilling show.
Kurbardovic had the better of the opening round, aggressive and reckless as usual, with a higher work rate than the more cautious Gezius, who nevertheless remained composed and focused on studying his opponent’s movements in search of an opportunity to catch him off guard.
That opportunity came during the second round, when Kurbardovic was caught by a tremendous counter right hand that sent him stumbling backward and forced him to touch the canvas with one glove. Referee Eric van den Heuvel made a serious mistake by failing to administer a count, a decision that would ultimately have a decisive impact on the final result.
Gezius continued to land the better punches in the third round as Kurbardovic’s face became increasingly covered in cuts and bruises, giving the impression that his hopes of victory were slipping away. However, the sheer determination of the boxer who appeared destined for defeat produced a sensational late twist: attacking furiously until the very end, Kurbardovic trapped Gezius against the ropes and sent him to the canvas, sending the crowd into a frenzy!
Once again, the referee was lenient toward Kurbardovic, failing to penalize him for a couple of punches thrown when Gezius already had one knee on the canvas. With each boxer having won two rounds, Kurbardovic’s knockdown therefore proved crucial in determining the winner.