TKO victories for the Thonson twins in Atlanta

THE JAMAICAN/CANADIAN twins, Chann and Trevor Thonson, both scored technical knockout (TKO) victories on Friday night during a seven-fight boxing card at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia, that was promoted by Cedric Boswell and Tuto Zabala.

Chann, who is the North American Boxing Association (NABA) lightweight champion, successfully defended his title with a second-round TKO victory over Aelio ‘Biro’ Mesquita of Sao Paolo, Brazil, in the co-featured bout, scheduled for 10 rounds. This takes his record to a flawless 13-0 with 10 of those bouts ending inside the distance.

Trevor, whose fight was scheduled for eight rounds, won by fourth-round TKO, over Sebastian Chaves of San Miguel, Buenos Aires, Argentina, to take his record to a perfect 7-0, all ending inside the distance.

An elated Chann told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday that because he is now rated No. 13 in the lightweight division by the World Boxing Association (WBA), he went into the fight feeling that he had to live up to greater expectations.

“I went into the fight feeling a new sense of purpose, and told myself quietly, that I should take out this guy in three rounds.”

With that in mind, he put pressure on his opponent from the start, and was dominant. Having achieved a good first round, he stepped up the pressure in the second, dropping his opponent twice with relentless body attacks. When he floored Mesquita a third time in the round, the referee stepped in and called it off at the 2:43 mark.

Chann told The Sunday Gleaner he would be taking a few months off, but should be back in the ring early next year, as he wanted to keep busy and put himself in a position to challenge for a world title before too long.

CONFIDENT

Trevor, who fought first on the card, oozed confidence going into his fight, and said although he did not go into the contest looking for a knockout, he had it in his mind that if the opportunity presented itself, he would take it.

Chaves, a southpaw, with a 5-5 record going into the fight, was competitive from the opening bell, but Thonson, who was the aggressor, put a lot of pressure on him and kept him off balance.

He stepped up the pace in the second round, but knew that he had to be careful because his opponent “was tricky and posed some problems”.

He continued in that vein in the third round, he said, and was able to gradually assume a level of superiority. Chaves was cut over his left eye in the third round and this obviously affected him for the remainder of the round.

When the bell rang for round four, he did not leave his stool, and Trevor was awarded a fourth-round TKO victory. He said that he was not surprised because his relentless attacks had started to take a toll on his opponent.

“He felt the pressure increasing, and I am elated that I kept my winning streak alive, and that Chann also won,” he said.

Continuing he said, “Next year will be an important and busy one for both of us, and I hope that we will be able to share billing on the same card on many occasions. Our goal is definitely to be world champions, and to get there, we know that we have to be dedicated to our sport. We can’t wait to get back into the ring next year.”