Potts appeals for women boxers

GOVERNMENT is being urged to do more to honour Trinidad and Tobago’s female boxers. This call is being made by internationally known matchmaker Boxu Potts who said yesterday he was disappointed  that several recently crowned world champion female boxers have not been adequately recognised. Potts said the present political directorate should take a page out of the book of neighbouring Guyana who treat their outstanding athletes like national heroes. “I find it hard to understand how a country like Guyana, who do not have the kind of financial resources like Trinidad and Tobago actually do more for their boxers than us,” Potts said. The former jockey said he recently paid a one-day visit to the English-speaking South American nation  where he presented a North American Boxing Council (NABC) Championship belt to Pamela London.

London won the world title on a September 23 card promoted by ABC Boxing Academy  at the Jean Pierre Complex in Mucurapo  in a bout sanctioned by the Women’s International Boxing Council (WIBC). However a dispute between Potts, a director of ABC Boxing Academy and Don “Moose” Lewis, president of the WIBC prevented the four championships belts from being presented on the night of the card. However the New York, US-based NABC, hearing of the plight of the boxers stepped in and contributed belts bearing their name for the winners of the titles. Potts said yesterday the Guyanese treat their women champion boxers like royalty and called on Trinidad and Tobago to do the same. “I was told that London was given a plot of land worth US$25,000 and cash in the same amount for winning the championship here in Port-of-Spain. She was also given the privilege of having the customs duty waived on two cars brought into Guyana in her name,” said Potts.

He said it was a shame that nothing similar has been done to honour Trinidad and Tobago’s world champions Iva Weston, Ria Ramnarine, Lisa “Bad News” Brown and Giselle Salandy. “We have heard officals make promises to the boxers but nothing tangible has been coming. It’s more talk than action and in the meantime the women boxers are ignored and made to feel like second class citizens,” said Potts. He said Salandy made history as a 17-year-old Siparia schoolgirl, when she captured the Ibero-American welterweight championship in Curacao. On her return to Trinidad after beating Colombian Paola Rojas, Salandy was promised free schooling, time off to continue training and a monthly stipend to help her combine her sport career with  the academics. “But nothing materialised. She was left out in the lurch struggling to keep her life straight juggling a boxing career and her schoolwork with no support from the Government. This is not sending the right message to the young people,” Potts said.

He said the other young promising women boxers Ramnarine and Weston have been labouring in the vineyards long and hard pursuing their ambition to make it to the top and having scaled the summit are finding it difficult to stay ahead. “This is because they have no support from Government in whose interest it is for the women boxers to be adequately compensated and recognised for their hard work and labour of love,” Potts said. “They should not be made to go cap in hand all over Port-of-Spain begging for funds to train or for help to stage a fight or money to buy a airplane ticket for a bout overseas. Something must be done for them,” he said. “At least some kind of proper job should be given to them in the Government Service and  a personal fund set up to take care of their education and training so that they can be free to give of their best when representing Trinidad and Tobago,” Potts said.

He made a special appeal to the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago to be sympathetic to the cause of the women boxers in particular and boxing in general if the sport is to survive. “We know that they are now responsible for the disbursement of funds for sport and we know that president of the organisation Gerard Ferriera is quite knowledgeable being an avid sportsman himself. As an act of good faith he should reach out to boxing and send a clear message of  support and confidence in the young women,” said Potts. He said there can be no doubt that boxing has been playing a positive role in keeping young people occupied in a wholesome and  healthy occupation so this opportunity must not be wasted. “The fact is we need to do more and Government must play a leading role in this regard else we risk losing some of our more valuable human resource, our young athletes,” said Potts.