Caribbean Boxing Championships in Trinidad

Dec 06, 2019 Sports

Ninvalle calls for Caribbean governments to have more respect for the sport

Guyana’s 16-member Boxing team began their quest of a successful defence in this year’s Caribbean Boxing Championships yesterday at the Pleasantville Sports Complex in South Trinidad following the opening proceedings.
Hampered by inadequate funding and the National Sports Commission (NSC) chipping in at the last hour with a one million doll

Guyanese welterweight Kevin McKenzie (blue) versus Joshua Frazer from Jamaica in one of the earlier bouts yesterday.

ar cheque, the Guyana Boxing Association was only able to send a reduced team to the event.
At the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Caribbean Boxing Steering Committee, Guyanese Steve Ninvalle, yesterday, declared that governments across Caricom need to show some more respect to the sport of boxing. Ninvalle was at the time delivering an address at the opening of the Caribbean Boxing Championship being held at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago.
Ninvalle told the gathering of regional officials, administrators and over 110 athletes, that boxing in Caricom has been struggling over the years and advised that there be a collective approach to governments. “The elephant in the room is funding and there is very little trickling in. Ask Jamaica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the list goes on. We all have the same story. Boxing needs to be shown a little more respect,” Ninvalle declared. He reasoned that Caricom only winning one Olympic medal in boxing (Guyana’s Michael Parris bronze medal) can be directly or indirectly linked to

Guyanese Colin Lewis (right) in action against Jorge Morgan in their contest last night.

the amount of support being received.
Ninvalle, the president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association, applauded his Trinidadian counterpart Cecil Forde for pulling out the stops in staging the tournament. “To Mr. Forde I say congratulations for pulling this one off. I more than anyone else know what you have gone through, and are going through at this time. Nevertheless you understand how important this tournament is to this region and you have stayed with it.”
Guyana, the defending champion, has sent a team of 13 boxers to the tournament which included: Youths: Mark Crawford, Richard Howard, Abiola Jackman, Emanuel Pompey, and Alesha Jackman.
Elites: Jullius Kesney, Keevin Allicock, Colin Lewis, Kevin McKenzie, Desmond Amsterdam, Dennis Thomas, Daren France and Kevin Hunte.
The Coaching staff is Terrence Poole and Sebert Blake.

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