Move to knock out boxing men

THE BATTLE IS heating up for the long awaited annual general meeting of the Amateur Boxing Association of Trinidad and Tobago carded for Sunday, November 23 at the Cosmic Boxing Gym in Marabella.

Yesterday the first salvo was fired by a spokesman of a group of clubs who are opposed to the present administration headed by retired Customs and Excise official Mike Jarvis. The officials, from clubs in North, East and Central Trinidad have been meeting regularly during the past few weeks trying to formulate a winning slate to wrest control of the association. Other officials standing for re-election are vice-president Cecil Forde; secretary Mario Robinson; and treasurer Fitzroy Richards. The spokeman for the clubs opposing the incumbent officers said he preferred to remain anonymous for the time being but listed serious concerns about the administration of the sport. Heading the list is the strained relationship between the ABA and the Boxing Board of Control, the Cabinet appointed body which oversees the sport in Trinidad and Tobago by an Act of Parliament. “We think that for the sport to move forward there must be some cooperation between the bodies. There must not be any friction,” said the spokesman. He was referring to the failed attempts of chairman of the Boxing Board, Melchoir Taylor to meet with the Amateur Association officials to discuss the concerns of the clubs.

Taylor, an internationally recognised referee has said his efforts have been rebuffed by the Amateur Association officials who maintain they are autonomous and are free to conduct their affairs any which way they like. The opposing clubs are also aggrieved that the ABA have designated themselves as the sole promoters of amateur boxing in the country, effectively removing their main source of revenue for the development of their programmes. “According to the constitution of the ABA, the clubs have the right to promote their cards and raise funds through gate receipts and sponsorship to help with their day to day affairs and programmes. “But they are unable to do so since the association have blocked them at every effort,” the official charged. He said over the past years nothing tangible has been accomplished to uplift the sport with only Kertson Manswell performing at an international level earning silver at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Manchester England, the Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador in November 2002, and the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic earlier this year.

“Manswell is on the way out but there are no others ready to take up the mantle. What have they done in breeding championship material to take us back to the top of the boxing ladder?,” the spokesman asked. He said Trinidad and Tobago is well-known for producing world beaters like former world  lightweight title-holder Claude Noel and light heavyweight Leslie “Tiger” Stewart but that the amateur resource pool has become stagnated. “We need to go back to Ground Zero, build up our talent pool and bring back confidence in the sport wooing the public and corporate bodies to support the sport. We need to get the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee and the Boxing Board of Control to play a major role in the road to success,” the spokesman said. He said another major concern was the willingness of the present officials to expose under-age fighters to the world of professional boxing, something for which they are totally unprepared. “They are put at great risk and cannot possibly benefit in any way from this kind of treatment. We need more responsible management,” said the spokesman. He said the officials of the respective clubs who have been meeting are pressing very hard for an observer from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs to be present at the annual general meeting next Sunday to ensure all activities are above board. “We sense that some things will be done to subvert the democratic process and we wish to ensure that if the present administration remain in office they must do so fair and square,” the spokesman said.