Sparks fly outside ring as Suarez loses

Carlos Suarez’s career as a boxer for T&T came to a controversial end yesterday, but it was not in the ring. Actually it was after the bout that most of the sparks flew when Suarez unleashed an explicit attack on personnel attached to the T&T Boxing Association (TTBA), and the board itself in the aftermatch press conference. “Buxo Potts is one of the worst boxing people I have ever dealt with. He actually did nothing but try to bring down my confidence. And all the other people in TTAB (TTBA), they are liars.” Suarez’s venemous statements followed an opening bout 16-6 loss in the men’s light flyweight class (46-49 kg) to Ferhat Pehlivan of Turkey, in his debut fight at the Olympic Games, here in London, England. “I have no intention whatsoever of turning pro or doing anything in Trinidad,” said the American-born fighter when asked about his boxing future in T&T.

 

He was, however, thankful for the opportunity of fighting at the Olympics. “This was a great experience. It was a lot of hard work. A lot of.....,” he paused to wipe away sweat dripping down his face, then continued, “I wouldn’t say up, lots of downs.” Suarez said he had no regrets about wearing the red, white and black colours during the Games. “I don’t have no regrets though. I fought my heart out. I tried to put on a show. From here on, I am going to go pro,” he said. Despite going down by a huge margin, Suarez was clearly a crowd favourite. He was lustily cheered when his name was announced. One of the supporters was Minister of Sports Anil Roberts, who was fully outfitted in red, white and black.” Suarez attacked at the sound of the bell but he was outboxed by the Turkish boxer who was adjudged to have had the better of the opening round, 5-2. Pehlivan again enjoyed the better of the exchanges in the second round and the margin was again 5-2. By the final round, Suarez had lost most of his spark, as the winner was a foregone conclusion with Pehlivan tallying his largest number of points of the bout, six, compared to Suarez’s two. “I am proud of my performance. At least I put on a show for the crowd,” shared Suarez.

 

 

Earlier in the day, T&T swimmer George Bovell, not wanting to risk anything ahead of the 50 metres freestyle event, opted out of the 100m freestyle. Bovell was scheduled to compete in heat four of eight but instead chose to sit out the event. The decision to miss the 100m fell in line with Bovell’s previous remarks that his main focus is the 50m freestyle which he feels is his best chance of winning a medal. Bovell, who won bronze at the 28th Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in the 200-metres individual medley (IM), remains one of T&T’s biggest prospects for a medal in the premier world event and will be back at the pool at the Aquatic Centre tomorrow. He will swim in lane three of heat six. Start time for the heats is at 10 am (5 am T&T time). The semifinals are set for later in the evening at 6.32 pm (1.32 pm) and the final is on Friday at 8.09 pm (3.09 pm T&T time). Andrew Lewis had a minute magnitude of improvement, on the second day of the men’s laser event at Weymouth and Portland, but the T&T sailor is placed on the lower end of the table. The 22-year-old moved up just one spot to 44th place from 45th placing on the opening day.

 

Race three proved to be his best thus far with him finishing 38th. He returned later in race four to place 40th. Combining the results from the two opening races on Monday, 46th and 43rd, respectively, his total points is 167 which is not a good sign for him as the higher the score, the lower the placing Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus won both races but the successes of Australian Tom Slingsby, a five-time world champion, in the first two legs gave him the overall lead with a minimal 11-point total. Kontides filled the second spot with 15 points while Swedish Myrgren Rasmus progressed to the third spot with 25 points. Great Britain’s Paul Goodison, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist, moved up from 17th spot to 12th with 51 points. He made the jump after a superb second race where he was second behind Kontides. US Virgin Islands sailor Cy Thompson dropped two places to 26th with 101. Among the women from the Caribbean, St Lucian Beth Lygoe is 37th with 141 and USVI’s Mayumi Roller remains last with 162 points in the women’s laser radial. Lewis will be back in the water today in races five and six, starting at the first race starting at 12.10 pm (7.10 T&T Time).