By Iva Wharton
“The whole status of boxing has changed for the simple reason that the standard of boxing has dropped to the ground. I went twice since I am home to see boxing, once at the Sports Hall and then at Thirst Park and when I see the boxing standard and status, especially the one at the Sports Hall, it changed my heart and mind.”
That’s the assessment of former amateur and professional fighter Reginald Forde who resides in the U.S.A. and has returned home with the intention of assisting with the development of the sport.
“But I will honestly say the first persons I will have to try to get that across to, is the (people) that they have here who think they know boxing, those are the trainers of this country. All of them are of the opinion that they know more boxing than anybody else and believe me they don’t know anything.
They ain’t know nothing about boxing because most of them have never been boxers themselves. A few of them have even been amateur champions because I was able to observe lil Thomas (Alfred Thomas) because Thomas was a very good boxer.”
Forde said he trained with the Thomas brothers at the then Dorcas boxing gym.
According to him one could tell that the standard of the sport took a hard fall in Guyana when a professional boxer is unable to teach a young boxer how to shoot a left jab.
“That is one of the most hateful things I can say of the boxers here. Even those in the past are not teaching our young men how to shoot a jab. When you shoot a jab you must be in a position as if a man throws any other punch at you, you could counter it.”
He said that the sport of boxing is very easy and it is a beautiful one, but the trainers are not taking their time to teach people the sport.
“Trying to teach a man to fight does not mean that every time he throws his hand he is going to hit somebody. But that is what boxing is all about – you trying to learn to move from punches, trying your best to block punches and counter. This is what these boxers here are not doing, a punch is being thrown at them and they trying to move and trying to hit the man. They are not trying to counter it and that is what you have to do in boxing.”
Forde said he has been able to meet with a few coaches but it is the mindset of the boxers that bothers him.
Defend yourself first
“A great deal of them hook on to some of the trainers like if they feel to themselves that the trainer could give them what they want. And I could tell them there is no trainer in here that could give them nothing of what they want for boxing. Because all of them forget the aspect of learning to box is learning to defend yourself first. When you could defend yourself you could beat anybody in a ring, it becomes very easy.”
Some of the blame, he said too, has to be cast at the feet of boxers. According to him, boxers have to realize what their trainer taught them is not working and must be able to improvise. “But if you ain’t thinking for yourself who you think will win, the opponent who is thinking for themselves will win.”
He said that last Saturday’s fight between Pauline London and Champion Gwendolyn O’Neil was one such example where the boxer relied only on what she was taught to do by her trainer.
Forde said he will be in Guyana until March of next year and would hope that he can have a workshop with coaches and boxers alike to pass on some of his knowledge.
The 58-year-old Forde who is now a trainer after hanging up his boxing gloves said that it is not his intention to offend anyone nor does he feel that he knows everything in the sport. But he knows enough that will be of benefit to those involved in the sport here, he maintained.
