Reyel Bowen, of the Bermuda Sanshou Association, earned a split-decision victory over Deandre Morris, of the Bermuda Karate Institute, what became the main event at BAA Gymnasium on Saturday night.

Bowen and Morris topped the bill in the Bermuda International Boxing Association’s debut card after Leo Richardson’s late withdrawal from his super-heavyweight bout against Chioke Tucker.

And the pair did not disappoint, treating the appreciative crowd to a closely fought light-heavyweight contest, which Bowen, the slightly slicker boxer, narrowly edged against a determined and effective Morris.

Bowen, whose victory was his second over Morris, believed that he had done just enough to claim the win.

“I’m definitely pleased to get the victory against Deondre who always gives me a tough fight,” said Bowen, whose bout was named the Fight of the Night.

“I feel that I boxed better this time than the last time I faced Deondre. I was in a lot better shape than when I last fought him and I felt my boxing a little bit better than his.

“I was able to pick out a couple of things that he was doing wrong, like leaving his body wide open, and tried to take advantage of that.

“It was quite nice to be the main attraction because I’m always on the undercard at these events and I’ve always aspired to be the main event. Even in these strange circumstances, I’m happy that I became the main event.”

While Bowen and Morris’s bout was the most skilled of the reduced six-fight card, the most thrilling was without question Lekan Scott’s seemingly mismatched super-heavyweight encounter with Jason Clark, of Rego’s Gym.

Surrendering more than 50lbs and several feet in height against his opponent, there were more than a few sniggers around BAA when the diminutive Lekan touched gloves with Clark at the start of the bout.

The laughter was soon silenced, however, with Lekan landing several seemingly impossible vertical punches to the temple of Clark in the pair’s full-blooded David v Goliath contest.

Whereas a young Israelite armed with a catapult won that biblical battle, Clark’s weapon of choice was a looping left hook that the lumbering Clark seemed incapable of evading.

Clark did manage to connect with several heavy blows to Lekan’s nose in the third round, which left him requiring treatment, but his busier opponent has already done enough to secure the victory by the time the bout was called to a slightly premature end because of his bloodied nose.

Lekan described himself as a “born fighter” who would happily take on all shapes and sizes.

“I had to backpedal a lot because he was a lot taller than me and he had to throw more punches to try and keep me at bay,” said the Fighter of the Night, who boxed independently as he is not affiliated to any gym.

“He hit me a few times but I’ve got a really, really hard head and it would take me a lot to knock me out. I’m trying to change my life because I’ve been a bad person and I’m trying to find better things to do.”

In the opening bout, Naizari Roberts, the sole representative from Controversy Gym, enjoyed an impressive points win over Andrew Haye, of Forty Rego’s Gym, who was also making his debut.

Mark Prior, of the Bermuda Karate Institute, then outworked late replacement Kaya Simmons, of Rego’s Gym, in middleweight bout refereed by Clarence Hill, who won the bronze medal for Bermuda at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

There were also two exhibition matches featuring four boxers from Rego’s Gym, Lea-jai Tucker against T’ahje Smith while Omar Dill took on Gianni Smith.

Several Bermuda legends of boxing, including Hill, Quinn Paynter and Gary Hope were acknowledged at the event, dubbed “The Homecoming”, in recognition of the bouts hosted at BAA in the Seventies and Eighties.

Hope, a former BAA favourite, took time out of his visit to the Island to attend the event and was given a warm reception when he entered the ring.

Liverpudlian Hope, who had more than 200 amateur and four professional bouts, said that revisiting his old stamping ground had resembled a trip down memory lane.

“This is very sentimental for me, seeing a lot of former faces that I used to know,” said Hope, who worked as a hairdresser for six years on the Island.

“The old times are in their faces and it’s been a really soulful event for me — it’s made my trip.

“I came back to Bermuda to see my brothers and my visit just coincided with this boxing event. It’s great to be acknowledged as I have a lot of fond memories of boxing at BAA.

“I had about 30 fights here, including one against Clarence Hill who beat me, although he was a lot bigger than me!”