Paul ready to make impact in Rio

The 27-year-old is the first boxer to represent TT at the Olympics since Kurt Sinnette at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Georgia.

Paul won the National Championships in May 2015 under the tutelage of Floyd Trumpet as a novice and began his trajectory to Rio. He was boxing for fitness and focusing on basketball but decided that after seeing the nation’s caliber of fighters, he could make the transition.

“I used to play basketball before. I was okay but I wasn’t excelling.

I was just boxing as a form of fitness, going to the (Iron Core) gym and lifting weights. Trying to get that body. I saw a pair of gloves and a punching bag and just started working out,” he said. He continued, “I entered the novice competition in the national championships and I approached my coach Floyd Trumpet at the time and told him I’d like to get into the sport of boxing and we started training for nationals.

But the first thing he told me back then was he wanted to train me for the Olympics.

I laughed at him. That sounds impossible because I know the Olympics was about a year and a half away. He said to me, ‘if you commit yourself I can take you to the Olympics’.” Paul, whose main focus was school, stated that when he saw a friend rise through the national boxing ranks, he knew he could too.

On seeing his friend, he said, “I thought ‘I could beat you’. If you could actually make it this far...” Paul said that the rapid ascension was something he always held belief in. “I tried out for the team. I won the National Championships and from there it was upwards. That was my first fight ever in a boxing ring. I competed against three guys in my division and won. Then I competed against Guyana and Barbados, winning gold in the Caribbean Championships,” added Paul.

He sealed his berth by going to the final of the Americas Zone Olympic qualifying tournament.

“We went to the qualifiers, I beat Ecuador, Venezuela, then I went up against the home boy, the Argentine.

And in 10 fights, one year, I was heading to Rio,” said Paul. He said that his faith and spirituality, coupled with family and coach Trumpet were crucial factors in his emergence.

Paul also touted former Olympian, Ato Boldon, as a key inspiration as he competed in the Elite Class of the International Boxing Association and divulged that since 2008, he knew he was meant for something bigger.

On his current mood, he concluded, “I’m just training. Preparing.

Praying. I’m ready.”