Ainsley Walters, Freelance Writer

Sean Cummings - file

SEAN CUMMINGS narrowly defeated Shai Shakura in Saturday's heavyweight final of the inaugural McKay Security Black Belt Invitational to top the 2007 Busta League, two points ahead of the veteran Arthur Barrows.

The Invitational, which was held at the UTech Auditorium, featured Jamaica's top black belts battling for divisional prizes of $10,000 as well as the male and female Busta League championships worth $50,000 and $25,000 respectively.

Despite missing some of its billed fighters, the Invitational was exciting throughout as the absentees did not include the top participants.

Wanliss went into a straight final with his Tae Kwon Do stablemate and World US Open junior sparring champion, Nicholas Dussard.

However, Wanliss was unable to get past the handicap of being 20 pounds lighter than Dussard as he had to move up to lightweight from his usual microweight class of under 115 pounds.

Full of upsets

The middleweight division was a closely fought contest between Omar Rose and Arthur Barrows with Rose narrowly getting past the seasoned veteran.

The heavyweight division, by far the most interesting, was full of upsets.

Bruce McFarlane, the world Seido Grand Champion and US Open world continuous fighting champion, fell to Shai Shakura of Montego Bay.

Cummings also created an upset on his way to the final when he easily beat highly-rated, former world champion Paul Williams of New York.

Cummings got the better of Shakura in the final but the Montegonian put up a gallant fight and kept the winner extended to the end.

The McKay Security Invitational, the final local martial arts meet of the year, was the last opportunity for fighters to secure points in the Busta League.

Cummings started the day on nine points, tied with Barrows, accumulated from three previous tournaments in the league.

Cummings won the league with 14 points to Barrows 12, handing him the 2007 league championships by two points.

The women's division was also a hot affair with favourite Alo Wanliss coming up short in her bout.

Her loss resulted in Shakeema Cunningham of Eagle Karate and Karyll Bennett of Zendo Kai Kan contesting the final.

The lightweight Cunningham won a close battle over Bennett but victory moved her to nine points, not enough to get by her rival, who had already accumulated 11 in previous tournaments before increasing to 14 with the loss.

Bennett pocketed the women's top league prize of $25,000 while Bennett walked away with $10,000 for winning the division at the Invitational.