Everette "Elisha Obed" Ferguson is now 60. He reached that age on February 21. Today, he's not even a glimpse of his boxing peak years. In fact, he struggles to walk, his speech is slow and he needs assistance to get through each day.
Yes, he fought for long years after he should have called it a day. In March of 1980 when Fulgencio Obelmejias stopped him in three rounds, that was the big signal for retirement. In Obed's prime, Obelmejias would not have survived beyond the fifth round.
He easily handled Obed in that March fight. It was Obed's 10th loss. He would continue fighting for eight more years, losing another 11 matches in the process. This does not represent the bright side of the Obed backdrop, but it's part of history. Also, Bahamian boxers currently campaigning would do well to learn from the entire Elisha Obed career.
Get out when the time is right. There is much about Obed though, that is worthy of accolades. Despite the unfortunate down sides, Obed will no doubt be remembered more for the great pride that he brought Bahamians while he was functioning as the well-oiled "Bahamian Fighting Machine" and eliminating all in his path along the way to the World Boxing Council (WBC) Junior Middleweight title.
The Bahamas Boxing Commission's historical booklet produced last year paid a fitting tribute to Obed. Here's an excerpt:
"The date, November 13, 1975 will forever be cemented in the boxing annals of the Commonwealth of The
Bahamas. That's when Obed became a legend by capturing the first world boxing championship for The Bahamas.
"It was in a Paris, France ring that Everette "Elisha Obed" Ferguson got the better of Miguel de Oliveira by battering the defending champion into submission via an 11th round technical knockout."
On the way to the de Oliveira bout, Obed captivated audiences in The Bahamas and South Florida. He drew some of the largest crowds and today Bahamians and Jamaicans still talk about the night he stopped Bunny Grant at the Nassau Stadium. Grant is among Jamaica's all-time best fighters. He was one of those slippery characters in the ring. However, against Obed he had no answers and the victory catapulted the Bahamian into the world ratings.
He later defeated the tough Canadian Fernand Marcotte for the North American Boxing Federation light middleweight title. He was ready for de Oliveira and proved it 10 months after the January 21, 1975 fight with Marcotte.
Obed went on to defend his world title twice (against Tony Gardiner in The Bahamas and Sea Robinson in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). He lost the title to Eckhard Dagge in 1976. Obed fought for the title one more time. He lost to Rocky Mattioli in 1978.
Obed ended up with 88 victories, the most of any Bahamian. Gomeo Brennan won 83 and Yama Bahama won 77 times. That's a record that is likely to last forever. It gives a great balance to the career and life of Elisha Obed.
Continued best wishes to him.
To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at fredericksturrup@gmail.com.

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