Promoter lauds ProAm initiative

Dec 08, 2010 Sports

Calls for government’s and other input towards boxing survival

Eleven months after the launching of the ProAm boxing cards, top promoter and head of the People’s Syndicate Promotions, Keith Bazilio feels that local boxers have benefited tremendously from the initiative. However, while lauding the efforts of Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) and Guyana Boxing Board of Control President, Peter Abdool, the individual behind the initiative, Bazilio feels that the sport is in need of governmental input coupled with renewed discussions from all stakeholders if it is to retain a prestigious ranking among other disciplines.

Keith Bazilio

Wensel Thomas

Bazilio envisions that with renewed efforts by all and sundry local boxers could lift their game to the pinnacle as in the days of yore when fighters the likes of Patrick Ford and Lennox Blackmore ruled the roost. “ The ProAm initiative is perhaps the singular most innovative idea of the executive of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control since it has succeeded in keeping the sport alive but with the obvious paucity of solid corporate support I could envisage the end result,” posited Bazilio.
He said that even though the initiative has had a positive effect on the boxers’ activities and performances, there ought to be other supporting initiatives towards the sustainability of boxing development. “We need to remember that only eight amateur boxers are facilitated on the card each month,” reminded Bazilio. “If we are to really succeed in the all round development of amateur boxers we will have to look at the problem in a more broad based way,” he advised.
He feels that the itinerary put in place by the executives of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) should also be fashioned to support the ProAm cards. “We cannot foster development in a piecemeal fashion. It would be nice if a wide majority of the crop of amateurs could benefit from constant activity; at least we would have a larger pool of pugilists to choose from,” suggested Bazilio.
The promoter was also critical of the coaching structure. He complimented the move by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport in the installment of Wensel Thomas as the national coach. However, Bazilio feels that much more need to be done in this sector if boxers are to leap unto the international scene. “We have a pool of coaches that have acquired training in Hungary, Mexico and Cuba among other countries but to my mind the returns from an achievement perspective is not on par,” lamented Bazilio.

The two major players in boxing development Peter Abdool (professional board) and Steve Ninvalle (amateur association)

He posits that the overseas courses may not be applicable to the local boxers since far too often they are merely replications of foreign programmes that fail to fit in the local module. “The Cubans fashioned a training programme that is suitable for them and when we attempt to take that programme and force fit it into our situation it will not work,” Bazilio maintains. Instead he feels that local coaches should huddle and develop a training programme that is unique and applicable to the needs of the local boxers.
One of Bazilio’s main contentions is that local coaches should balance the physical preparations with a programme that focuses on mental development. “Our boxers need to learn the sport from every facet and they can do this through discussions with their coaches and lectures from relevant professionals,” said Bazilio.
He suggests the encampment of the boxers over weekends to facilitate the lectures, seminars and general psychological input of identified specialists. He said that he is cognizant of the financial requirements for such initiatives but remains confident that government officials could raise these discussions in Parliament and subsequently budget for such programmes. “Sports success entails a national effort; when one boxer earns international acclaim the entire country benefits,” reminded Bazilio.
The local promoter also suggested that boxers aspire to get a building that they can call home. “The Andrew Lewis Boxing Gym is inadequate for such an initiative. At this moment that structure is more of a liability that an asset to local boxers,” said Bazilio. He said that much more needs to be done both in the architecture as well as the training structure of the facility.
Quizzed on possible reasons for the scant respect demonstrated by government administrators Bazilio said, “Boxing is a sport that attracts young men that are basically from the ghetto; from the grassroots clan. Too many people brand our pugilists in the most derogatory of ways. This stigma is bad for the sport and generally causes many persons to look down on boxers while failing to note their contributions to the society,”
Bazilio lamented. He is adamant that unless such thinking is removed boxing would continue to wallow in mediocrity.
Bazilio has been one of the frontline individuals agitating for betterment in boxing. He has had a relatively short tenure in the ring but has turned to the promotion business after hanging up his gloves. During his active promotion years he has matched most of Guyana’s top fighters among themselves as well as with international competition. Bazilio has also donated much of his personal funds towards the development of the sport and has even purchased a building in Albouystown which he has converted into a gym, the Forgotten Youth Foundation. It has been sometime since he has promoted a card but he continues to give advice to the younger promoters even as he remains committed to the development of the sport.