Another historic moment was achieved by the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), as the entity sent a two-member fight roster to the World Junior’s Boxing Championship in Yerevan, Armenia, which is pencilled to commence today.
Caribbean junior champions Tiquan Sampson and Akeela Vancooten will spearhead Guyana’s medal ambition, with experienced tactician Lennox Daniels serving as the coach. The trio’s attendance provides for the historic occasion, as it’s the first time that Guyana will be represented at the premier global youth championship, which is being administered by the world’s governing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA).
According to the official IBA website, “After a long 8-year pause, our major junior event is back on the IBA calendar, with the IBA Junior World Boxing Championships scheduled to be in November 2023. Yerevan, Armenia, has been awarded the right to host the event amongst our 15- to 16-year old boxers. The last junior events were held in 2015, with the men’s tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, and the women’s in Chinese Taipei. This time, the joint event will unite young boxers from around the globe in Armenia’s capital to compete in 13 junior men’s and 13 women’s weight categories.”
GBA President Steve Ninvalle said, “Seminal moments are what we strive to achieve at the GBA. These episodes and instances are not solely a reality of competitive performance but also meaningful participation as a means to expose our talented pugilists. Once again, this is indicative of the GBA’s ideology, which is primarily and evidentiary geared towards the development of our nursery and, by consequence and residual effect, the long-term sustainability and evolution of the sport.”
He further said, “We strive to undertake similar endeavours at all age groups and stages, as international competition is indispensable to the growth of our nursery. International competition, especially those of youth persuasion, cannot be divorced from the developmental process. This is especially significant and noteworthy in Guyana’s case, as we strive to continue regional dominance and achieve international acclaim.”
