Boxing men ready to throw in towel

THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Boxing Board of Control have issued a veiled threat to Government. The officials, who were appointed by Cabinet last year have stated in no uncertain terms that they are no longer prepared to work under prevailing conditions. And they are calling on Government to provide them with finance and resources for them to execute their job in a meaningful manner. This was confirmed by Melchoir Taylor, chairman of the Boxing Board of Control who revealed that he has been presiding over a series of important meetings during the past weeks. “We are documenting what our needs are and what is required for us to make a significant impact on the sport of boxing and fulfil the mandate that has been entrusted in us,” Taylor said.

Top of the agenda is a fully equipped office, a full-time secretary who must be paid a salary and enhanced remuneration for the chairman and his board. Taylor said the board was forced to do a performance audit because of recent negative articles appearing in a daily newspaper which put the officials in a bad light. “The criticism is not constructive and is just degrading the work of the officials. All of it has been fuelled by a leak in the operations of the board. We know who the culprits are and will be taking action soon,” Taylor said. He said much of the difficulties faced by the board stem from their inclination to bend over backwards to assist promoters in staging professional cards.

“We have been helping out in many instances just to ease up the promoters through the waiving of fees and the sort.  Yet we end up holding the sticky end of the stick,” said Taylor. He said the board recently decided that enough was enough since the members were all professional people with reputations to protect and hold the highest standards of integrity. “We could not allow our character to be tarnished by these unsubstantiated charges. We decided to take the initiative and spur Government into action so we can do our jobs better,” said Taylor. “We will soon submit to the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs a document which will outline what must be done for us and hopefully we can get the sport back on track,” said Taylor.

Among the members of the current board are businessmen Hubert Bhagwansingh and George Hadeed; and  attorney-at-law Elton Prescott. Taylor leaves Trinidad tomorrow for Tokyo, Japan to referee a World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight title fight. The 112-lb contest over 12 rounds on June 4 is between title-holder Lorenzo Parra of Venezuela and Japanese challenger Takesumi Sataka, the second ranked WBA contender. It will be Taylor’s second visit to the land of the Rising Sun and the 12th time he is officiating in a world title bout. He has also stood in world title fights in Las Vegas, USA twice; France, Washington DC in the US and Venezuela.