Ebanks decisioned in the quarterfinals

(CIOC): Tafari Ebanks gave a memorable showing for Cayman Islands boxing in Glasgow but his XX Commonwealth career came to an end earlier today. Ebanks, 20, advanced to the quarter-finals of the bantam (56 kilograms) weight class with a first round bye before beating 20-year-old Henry Umings of Papua New Guinea by second round TKO. His successful start didn’t follow him into the semis, however, where Ebanks dropped a unanimous decision to 29-year-old Benson Gicharu Njangiru, with each of the three judges scoring 29-28 in favor of the Kenyan.

The West Bayer started slowly, as Njangiru won the first two rounds by scores of 10-9 each time, before winning the final three-minute round 10-9. Ebanks says the fight did not show him at his best.

“It went extremely well but my performance wasn’t up to standard to how I wanted to make it,” Ebanks said. “It was a really close fight. I lost but I know I could have done better within myself. I got a lot to think about.”

Cayman’s national boxing coach, Norman Wilson, was in Ebanks’ corner for both fights. Wilson said the quarterfinal loss was a result of Ebanks not having enough heart.

“As the fight was going on, for some reason, I saw him a little lackadaisical,” Wilson said. “I told him he wasn’t in the fight in the first round. You have to win the first round; you have to because that sparks the judges. When the judges see you owning it that sparks them. He got hit with some shots that he isn’t supposed to get hit with. I told him when came to the corner, ‘you’re not in the fight, where are you?’ Then he picked it up a little bit in the second but not enough. He took the last round, but that isn’t good enough.”

“It’s him. See, if you know how to do everything and get in the ring and don’t do it, we can’t say it’s your jab or your guard; it’s you. You have to have that desire to be able to say, ‘I’m going to win.’ You got to know how to win. Winning isn’t just getting in the ring, looking pretty, moving pretty. You got to fight.”