FOLLOWING the successful hosting of its Novices Boxing Championships at California Square, East Ruimveldt, under the theme ‘Nuff Cuff Injection’, the Steve Ninvalle-steward Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) has turned its attention to the East Coast of Demerara-based Buxton community for the second edition.

Dubbed ‘Nuff Cuff Injection 2’, the event will punch off on May 31 (next Saturday) at the Buxton Community Centre ground from 19:00hrs, where boxing fans and enthusiasts will have the opportunity of seeing the country’s Simon Purees in action.
Fifteen fights are carded for the night, with boxers representing gyms out of St Lucia, New Opportunity Corps (NOC), Berbice, Linden, Essequibo and Georgetown. Fans are asked to pay an entrance fee of $500 to witness the action.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, Ninvalle said he honestly believes the first edition of the ‘Nuff Cuff Injection’ was overwhelming and the members of the community responded well.
“It tells us that we are moving in the right vein; when we take the sport to the communities other than have the communities come to the sport. One major hurdle it alleviates is the fact that people have to travel and do so for long distances,” said Ninvalle.
He added, “Whenever you have a sporting event at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall or the National Gymnasium and such forth, those people who would wish to witness the action from such villages as Mahaicony or Ann’s Grove are unable to do so due to transportation problems.
“But when we take the sport to them, those people who would have heard of live boxing but don’t have means of transportation would get a chance to witness same and even bring out family members as well because it is right in the neighbourhood.”
According to Ninvalle, following the first edition which also saw the return of the NOC gym to amateur boxing after a lengthy absence, there has been an inflow of young boxers in the gyms around Georgetown, which is a plus for the feeding programme of the GBA.
“I see the ‘Nuff Cuff Injection’ programme as a win-win situation for us and the communities in which the programmes will be held. It gives us a great chance to unearth talent and really serves also as a fillip to unearth new talents, which augurs well for the sport.”
Ninvalle said his organisation, by way of taking the sport to the communities around the country, was responding to Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony’s call to decentralise the sport as well. He thanked his fellow executives and hardworking team for making the ‘Nuff Cuff Injection’ programme a success.