J’can boxers miss qualification for Paris | Sport

JAMAICA WILL have no boxing representative at the upcoming Paris Olympics after hopes went up in flames following defeats to Sanji Williams and Tevoy Barrett in the final global qualifier in Bangkok, Thailand last week.

Speaking to The Sunday Gleaner, Leroy Brown, general secretary of the Jamaica Boxing Association, said no Jamaican being at the Olympics leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

“It’s always disappointing when your athletes don’t come to the Games. In amateur boxing, the Olympics are the ultimate stage, and that’s what every boxer wants. When you get to that stage, you use it to propel you into the professional ranks,” Brown said.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Jamaica had one representative in Ricardo Brown, who fought in the Super Heavyweight division. Brown’s presence in Tokyo broke a 24-year trend, as Jamaica was previously last represented by the trio of Tyson Gray (featherweight), Sean Black (light middleweight) and Rowan Donaldson (middleweight), at the 1996 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Atlanta.

According to Brown, Jamaica should copy the style of countries such as Cuba and Kazakhstan which, despite always being present at the Olympics, begin their preparation for an Olympic competition immediately after a cycle ends.

“They always say you have to prepare for the next Olympic Games at the end of the current Olympic cycle you are dealing with. That is why we must immediately start preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games, and what we must do is look and see what we have and then cherish it. Preparations for Cuba and the United States will begin immediately, and these are countries that will have representations, as well as countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,” he explained.

The veteran boxing administrator suggested that regular competitive competition for the country’s elite boxers could potentially solve some of the problems. He added that the Gloves over Guns boxing tournament could be used as a breeding ground for the development of future world beaters.

“We need a group of boxers who are constantly in training. We’ve been pushing the Gloves over Guns program, which is at the grassroots level, and what we need to do is make sure that boxers, who you put effort into all year round, have constant competition. This is one of the areas that we’re missing right now, and that’s the one area where you can grow,” Brown said.

Brown further suggested that increasing the exposure of local boxers in the Caribbean and South American markets would also be good for their development.

“We should also look at opportunities to send our boxers to the Caribbean and nearby areas such as Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.”

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