Central look to regain winning ways

Ishmael, along with fellow Board members Dr Rochelle Mohammed, Simon De Nobrega and Terry Young, were presented with their instruments of appointment at the Conference Room, Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, Port of Spain yesterday.

The other member of the Board, shot-put ace and 2015 Sportswoman of the Year Cleopatra Borel, is currently in Cuba on a training stint, but will get her instrument of appointment when she returns at the end of this month.

During the media conference Ishmael commented, “I am pleased to take over the role as chairman.

The Board has only now been installed and we are minded, at this point in time, in moving the sport of boxing forward - the professional aspect of it.

“We need to be mindful of being responsible in these fiscal times,” he acknowledged. “We have to make sure that we meet with the stakeholders, be guided by the Government policy on sport and what the Government wants to achieve in that regard.” Asked about what leadership style he plans to undertake, Ishmael replied, “my way of doing things is one of being transparent and also through consultation.” He admitted, “I have not been involved in boxing before. If you are familiar with the Boxing Control Act, it specifically prohibits persons involved in administration of boxing before from being on the Boxing Control Board.” With regards to the members of the TTBBC, Ishmael is an attorney-at-law, Mohammed is a medical doctor, De Nobrega is a businessman, Young is a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and Borel is a long-standing shot put athlete.

Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Darryl Smith, said, “we’ve seen (Nigel) Paul qualifying for the Olympics in the heavyweight (class). So we hope that this new Board will continue in that same vein, to ensure that we continue the drive (so) the sport reaches to the prominence that it once had.” Smith also revealed that, with this current TTBBC, there will be no special advisor position, which was previously held by match-maker Boxu Potts