THE Guyanese amateur boxers who competed in the Goodwill Boxing Tournament in Trinidad and Tobago over the weekend produced a good account of themselves and their country though some were treated unfairly.

Accompanied by coach Clifton Moore of Essequibo and manager Eustace Cuffy, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) vice-president, the team was invited to the competition on short notice at the expense of the Trinidad Boxing Association.
According to Moore, Travis Hubert and Travis Fraser were both on the losing end of two controversial decisions in deciding bouts.
Speaking with Moore yesterday he said, “I think when the Trinidadians looked at how we prepared for our fights and saw our training regime they felt that they might probably be beaten without a shot of victory.”
“Travis Hubert’s loss was controversial but we did not want to object because we wanted to be good ambassadors to who actually made out participation possible and that would have been rude. And also, to engage a protest it would’ve cost us US$500 and if we won we would only get back US$300. We didn’t have that kind of money,” he stated.
“However, when we reflected on the matchup, Fraser’s opponent did not get to catch him with any punches because of his evasive style of boxing so the decision was quite shocking.”
Reflecting on Fraser’s defeat, Moore disclosed that Fraser’s opponent came out guns blazing for the first half, but got tired in the latter part which resulted in his hugging and repeatedly pushing Fraser to the canvas but he was not disqualified for the act.
The other boxers who competed all aced their categories. They were Quincy Boyce, Dawani Lampkin, Shaka Moore and Junior Henry.
In a brief presser yesterday with the president of the GBA, Steve Ninvalle, he expressed his gratitude to the Trinidadians who for some time have had a good relationship with them.
He went on to say that it was good more than half the team came back as winners and it is great for our development.
“From what I understand all our boxers displayed a high degree of discipline and that is what we strive for,” Ninvalle added.