Best boxer at this year’s Michael Parris Pepsi U16 boxing championships, Tiquan Sampson and champion boxer of last year’s championships Keyon Martin, headline a 21-member squad
Selected by the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) to successfully defend home turf in the upcoming Winfield Braithwaite Caribbean Schoolboys/Juniors Championship scheduled from August 18 at the National Gymnasium.
This is according to a statement released by the association yesterday.
Sampson of the Forgotten Youth Foundation, was adjudged best boxer following his defeat of Trinidad’s Prince Charles in April this year at the National Gymnasium.
The diminutive Britton, of the Vergenoegen Boxing Gym, has attracted a lot of attention for his excellent ring craft, and was also outstanding at last year’s Michael Parris Pepsi U16 championships.
According to the release, the team, which features two females, includes representation from the Forgotten Youth Foundation, the Guyana Police Force, Andrew Lewis Gym, Rose Hall Jammers, Vergenoegen, and Pace and Power Boxing Gym.
It comprises [Rose Hall Jammers] Shimroy Wings, Raham Peters, Travis Sancho, Matthew Sancho, Kenyon Hamilton, and Joffes Jackson; [Vergenoegen] Keyon Britton, Markel Blue, Joel Hinds, Garvel Hyman, and (female) Tianna Moore; [Forgotten Youth Foundation] Wayne Castello, Tiquan Sampson, Shakquain James, and (female) Akeelan Vancooten; [Pace and Power], Khamuda Alexander, Ken Harvey, and Ryan Rodgers; [Andrew Lewis] Eon Bancroft and Leon Albert; and [Guyana Police Force] Chance Niles.
Steve Ninvalle, President of the GBA, said that the selection was a result of a thorough and structured process which commenced months in advance of the upcoming championships.
The team will be under the watchful eyes of the association’s technical machinery, whose sole objective is to prepare the pugilists to defend
home turf, Ninvalle pointed out.
“While we would have prevailed on each occasion as the overall winner, we simply cannot utilize past results as a barometer,” Ninvalle said.
“As a consequence, we will leave no stone unturned in our continued preparation to maintain our dominance in the region, as the competition provides a window, brief as it may be, into the future and overall imminent direction of the discipline in the region”, he added. Guyana will join teams from Barbados, The Bahamas, Grenada, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the prestigious tournament.
According to the release, the GBA commenced its arduous selection process with its monthly U16 championships, which were hosted at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown and at the National Gymnasium. Following the previous competition in July, combatants were shortlisted for further assessment which resulted in the aforementioned cadre being selected.
The pugilists will be encamped to continue the preparatory phase and will be once again under the supervision of the GBA coaches Lennox Daniels, Sebert Blake, Clifton Moore, Francisco Roldon and Technical Director, Terrence Poole MS, the release ended.
