Moore edges tough US opponent for historic US Open win

ADRIAN Moore’s successful comeback from a COVID-19 forced hiatus, continued for a second consecutive International Sport Karate Association’s US Open last weekend with the 35-year-old fighter winning a close Night of Victory bout for the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) World Championship title at the Coronado Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Moore defeated Gabriel Dearmas of the United States 3-2, joining Kennneth Edwards, Sheckema Cunningham and Alrick Wanliss, plus two-time winners Richard Stone, Nicholas Dusard and Ackeem Lawrence as Jamaican US Open ITF World Championship title-holders.
Moore’s comeback started last year after previously competing at the US Open in 2019, winning continuous-sparring gold as part of Jamaica’s record-breaking year of 19 gold, 15 silver and 20 bronze medals at the world’s biggest martial arts open.
Last year, Moore and teammate Nicholas Dusard dominated the middleweight division, meeting in the finals of both clash and continuous sparring at the world’s biggest martial arts open.
Whereas he was stopped by Dusard winning silver in the clash-sparring final, Moore 
took home continuous-sparring gold after his teammate pulled a hamstring in his
dramatic knockout of the United States’ Joshua Wirtz.
Moore was the first graduate of the McKay Security Jamaica Taekwon-do Association’s High School League to captain Jamaica’s combined martial arts team is eyeing a spot on the squad for Europe later this year.
“I want to go to Madrid, Spain, for the International Sport Kickboxing Association Amateur Members Association (ISKA AMA) World Champs in November,” said Moore, who had to overcome a cancelled flight and late arrival in Orlando for his historic win.
Moore was one of four Jamaicans to first fight at the ISKA AMA World Championships, Holland 2012, among a trio of bronze-medal winners, Jason McKay and Dusard, topped by Oshane Murray, who won the country’s first gold at the tournament.
In 2018, Moore fought alongside Dusard, Kenneth Edwards, Akino LIndsay and Ackeem
Lawrence to lift the ISKA AMA World Championships team-fighting gold at home, cheered on by supporters inside the Montego Bay Convention Centre.
Moore, who had lost his previous US Open ITF World Championship bid to Ireland’s Keat Hongloi in 2017, said Dearmas was a tough and younger opponent.
“He is younger, 21, very technical, fast and tricky. He was faster and technical. The advantage I had was experience and I was stronger. It was very close,” said Moore, who won on a decisive point from centre ref Master Alvin Bernard after corner judges had called the bout a 2-2 tie.

- Ainsley Walters