President of the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control, Stephen ‘Bomber’ Jones credits the leadership demonstrated by Peter Abdool, president of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) and the Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) for opening opportunities for regional boxers in the United States and further afield.
In an article published in the January 21 edition of the Jamaica Observer, Jones said the US, Canada and Puerto Rico are now willing to take on Jamaican boxers because of Abdool’s interest and efforts to revitalise the sport in Guyana and in the wider Caribbean. In this regard, he noted that Abdool is “doing good work in the region.”
Jones noted that amateur boxing entails athletes gauging their progress and representing their country, while gaining national and international exposure. “The main thing for me is improving on the boxers that we have, whether locally or internationally. It’s trying to get them from one level to the next,” he explained.
In an invited comment, Abdool told Stabroek Sport that he and the top brass of the GBBC and CABOFE are gratified by Jones’s statements. He said they were pleased to see in print that Guyana’s activities have had a positive impact on the rest of the Caribbean.
“We are proud of what we heard and we thank Steven Jones for his positive comments which are testimonial to the hard work of sterling board members like Trevor Arno, Andrew Thorne, Francis Abraham, Eon Jardine, Clairmont De Souza, Howard Cox and indeed all members of the Guyana Board and CABOFE stalwarts like William Boodhoo, all of who’s tireless and gratis efforts are helping to change Guyana and Caribbean boxing to create real and sustainable opportunity for our young fighters,” he said.
Abdool noted that Guyana has hosted 160 bouts in the last 20 months through the Guyana Fight Night ProAm cards and that all of the proceeds have remained in the sport through fighter’s purses and within the boxing community.
He also pointed out that improved records, skills and experience are evident and that the boards are encouraged by the scope of the positive impact on the sport. Abdool also disclosed that the boards are working to have Jamaica and Mexico send teams to Guyana and vice versa for Guyana Fight Night cards in the near future.
