New boxing talents take centre stage tonight

More than 50 novices and fresh faces have registered for the National Amateur Boxing Championship, which got off to a start last evening at the Woodbrook Youth Facility.

According to special advisor to the T&T Boxing Board of Control (TTBBC) Boxu Potts, the increase in the number of youngsters who now practise boxing has been attributed to the joint efforts of the Ministry of Sport, the T&T Amateur Boxing Association (TTABA) and the TTBBC. He said all parties have been working in collaboration to ensure that boxing hopefuls were given the opportunities necessary to grow and hone their skills and the resulting success was now visible in the increase in participants at the national championships.

“We have a whole new generation of amateur boxers to move forward with. There are many youths in the nurseries, and our goal to qualify for the 2016 Olympics is very much attainable. Some of the older ones have reached their capacity and are stagnated. We can't wait until 2015 to identify potential Olympians,” said Potts.

He indicated that careful attention was being paid to this championship, as boxers will be selected for specialised training towards Rio 2016. 

Action will continue at the same venue tonight and tomorrow from 6 pm, while action on the weekend starts at 3 pm.

The event has been supported by the Ministry of Sport and sponsored by the Sport Company of T&T. Caribbean Bottlers Ltd has shown interest in the development of the young athletes and has supported the event with bottled water and Powerade.

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