Joint winner of the National Sports Commission Junior Sportsman-of-the-Year award and the best bantamweight fighter in the Caribbean, Keevin Allicock, is proud to represent his hometown, Albouystown, as he sets his eye on medalling at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
In an interview after winning the award earlier this week, the 19-year-old boxer from the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) Boxing Gym was emotional when his name was called as the winner of the award, crediting God, hard work and sacrifice as the keys to his ascent to the top.
“First of all I have to thank God because without God I couldn’t achieve this, secondly it called for a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice, right now I’m feeling excited,” he declared.
In 2017, Allicock won Guyana’s lone medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games in The Bahamas, losing to England’s James David in their flyweight (52Kg) final by split decision.
Allicock is confident of medalling after proving himself capable of going toe-to-toe with the best in the squared circle.
“My goal is to bring gold at the Olympics. I have what it takes, I just need the necessary support to take it to the next level. I fought with the number one in the world in the bantamweight, losing by a split decision and it shows me I have what it takes and I’m going to work hard to medal for my country,” Allicock asserted
On winning the award, Allicock said: “This motivates me more to push and put in the extra work and keep working hard so I can fly the flag once more and bring more gold to the country.
He also wants to inspire others especially those from Albouystown.
“I think my family is going to be so happy with it [award] you know, it actually carries a story behind it and I wanted to, you know, not just for my family but to inspire other people, you know, it’s not where you come from its where you are going and my family is definitely going to be proud of it as well as my hometown and the fighting spirit of the forgotten people that I represent,” Allicock said.
The teen pledged his dedication towards making the country proud, saying that he is “going to push to achieve more and more” not just for himself and family but his country and bring about his dream of flying the flag high.
It is a long road ahead for the Olympic prospect as he goes into the South American Games where he is also a favorite to medal after going back into his normal weight class. Allicock will then prepare for the Central America and Caribbean Games (CAC) in Columbia later this year.
