2008 COMMONWEALTH Games silver medallist, Clevon Rock, will spearhead a six-man boxing team to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games,  scheduled to be held in Puerto Rico from July 17 to August 1. According to vice-president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) and manager of the team, Raj Kumar, and the team’s coach Terrence Poole, there are high expectations from this team, based on the compilation of same.
“We have put together the best possible team which we feel can go out there and represent Guyana proudly. Added to that, all the boxers are national champions in their respective divisions, while four of them already have overseas experience,” said Kumar.
“Having said that, I must add how pleased I am with the squad and the necessary preparations they have been undergoing leading up to our departure, which is scheduled to be sometime between July 14 and 16.”
The six pugilists who have been selected are Rock who will be competing in the lightweight division, Devon Boatswain (middleweight), Bert Braithwaite (junior welterweight), Ray Sandiford (welterweight), Dexter Jordan (flyweight) and Herlando Allicock (junior flyweight).
Of that lot, Rock, Braithwaite, Sandiford and Allicock are the four who have overseas experience, with Rock being the 2008 Commonwealth Games silver medallist and the spearhead of the attack.
He is also the lone boxer to record a victory over Republican Gym’s Nandkumar Singh, the amateur boxer who has been turning heads on the GABA/Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) ProAm Friday Night Fights (FNF).
According to Kumar, Allicock won his place on the team, following his victory over Troy Biley’s in a box-off, after the latter had suffered an upset loss to Dexter Wray in the previously held GBBC/GABA ProAm fights at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
“With all due respects to Biley, his loss to Wray was a big setback in his quest to make the CAC Games team. In fact, he was a member of the team but after seeing his pathetic display against Wray, we decided to put him in a box-off with Allicock.
He was notified of same and readily agreed to fight for his place on the team, knowing that a loss – which he eventually suffered – would do his chances no good, hence Allicock’s place on the team,” stated Kumar.
Meanwhile, the disciplinary committee of the GABA has imposed a four-month suspension of Dennis Thomas, following his failure to show up for his middleweight bout against Boatswain at the last FNF.
Kumar said the disciplinary committee met and decided that his actions which followed hot on the heels of Stephon Gouveia, who was also a no-show, should not go unrecognised, taking into consideration the body’s stern view on insularity.
“Boxing is a disciplined sport and if a boxer who is attached to the GABA cannot be disciplined enough to show up for his fight, then he must face the necessary penalties handed down to him by the discipline committee.
We had toyed with the idea of placing him on a six-month ban, with our president and Parliamentary Secretary Steve Ninvalle adding his support to same, but after careful consideration, we decided to go with the four months.