A trio of representatives from the T&T Boxing Board of Control (T&TBBC) and the Ministry of Sport went to the Mayweather Boxing Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where they met last week with Floyd Mayweather in an effort to create an exchange programme for local athletes between the United States and T&T. The representatives, comprising Chairman–Annabelle Davis; the board's Special Advisor–Boxu Potts; and board member Ruth Marchan, the deputy director of sports in the Ministry of Sports, took the opportunity to meet with Mayweather in his gym where he made a donation of US$100,000 to the Breast Cancer Society. Davis, Potts and Marchan met with Mayweather, his trainer Roger Mayweather and gym manager and former WBC Super Featherweight World Champion Cornelius Edward, where it was agreed that Mayweather (Roger) and Edwards will host a workshop for local coaches in T&T in the near future.
However, due to commitments and intense training in the run up to a fight against Manny Pacquiao in May this year, which has attached, a purse of $100 million, the biggest in the history of boxing, Mayweather (Floyd) will be unavailable for the first trip. Nevertheless, Mayweather has endorsed the programme with the T&TBBC. Edwards indicated that T&T's amateur and professional boxers are invited to train in the Las Vegas gym, where they will be assisted in their development. On another note, an initiative of the T&TBBC and the Ministry of Sport has seen the opening of a gym on Basillon St, Port-of-Spain, this week. Several other communities are set to benefit from a "developmental drive" programme including: Siparia, Point Fortin, Toco, Mayaro and in Tobago. Children's homes throughout the country, such as St Michael's and St Mary's Homes, are also expected to benefit from the programme.