By Michaelangelo Jacobus
Following the successful staging of the Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis National Novices Boxing Championships, the Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) President Steve Ninvalle has expressed pleasure at the return of the Republican Boxing Gym after five years of inactivity. The Republicans proved to be troublesome opponents at the tournament and even managed to pick up two championships. Andrew Thompson fought his way to the Flyweight title while Timothy Fraser claimed the Middleweight title.
In layman terms, the Republican Boxing Gym is comprised of serving inmates of the Guyana Prison network. History has shown that the Republicans are capable of unearthing gems in the boxing ring; most recently, Jason ‘AK 47’ Barker, who shot to regional acclaim in 2016 when he boxed his way to the Caribbean Super Heavyweight championships in Barbados. At the time, Barker who was sentenced to 20 years in prison back in 2008, said that boxing had saved his life and made him into a changed man. Barker is currently out of prison on parole.
It is to this end that Ninvalle revealed that the GBA and the National Sports Commission (NSC) have thrown their support behind the Republicans. He noted; “GBA and the NSC has offered them (Republicans) the services of National Coach Lennox Daniels, who has been working with them, he has been the real reason behind their spirited opposition in the just-concluded National Novices. Coach Daniels will continue working with them, we want to continue in that vein”.
Pointing out the need for a gender balance in boxing and sports in general, Ninvalle maintained; “We’ll be happy if there can be a balance as it relates to the Republican Gym. We’ll be having discussions as it relates to the possibility of having female inmates taking part in future GBA statutory competitions. Female representation would be good, we hope to have discussions (with the relevant authorities), make it very clear, we cannot say what would happen, but we (GBA) hope that it can become a reality.”
From the novices’ tournament, there is a natural progression to the higher levels of competition. The GBA boss explained that while Barker is just one example of an excellent find in the Republican corner, he is hopeful of the gym producing good boxers in the near future.
The next competition for the GBA will be the Lennox Blackmore Intermediate Boxing Championship.
