LOCAL amateur bantamweight king Delon Charles may have a chance at revenge, as Cayman Islands yesterday registered a strong team to participate in next month’s International Goodwill tournament in Guyana. The eight-man Cayman Island team of boxers and officials is being led by tough bantamweight Tafari Ebanks. Charles lost 3-0 to Ebanks at the Pan-American Qualifier held in Tijuana, Mexico last July. However, in order to have another chance at Ebanks, Charles must first win at the imminent National Sports Commission Terrence Alli National Open.
The 21-year-old Ebanks was a quarter-finalist at the last Commonwealth Games, the Pan-American Qualifier and the AMBC Championships, held recently in Venezuela. The Cayman Island side comprises six boxers and two officials.
The registration of the Cayman Island team has brought the number of participating countries to 11. So far, Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, French Guiana, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Maarten, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago have documented their commitment to participate.
The Goodwill tournament is scheduled for November 26-29 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The tournament is the brainchild of Guyana Olympic Association president K. Juman Yassin and was first held last year February when four countries participated.
A release from the Guyana Boxing Association, organisers of the event, stated that the upcoming competition is geared towards serving as nursery for the production of boxers for Elite competitions staged by the AMBC and/or AIBA, and to give technical officials of the region an opportunity to get much needed practice in preparation for moving forward in the AIBA training programme.
So far, Barbados and Jamaica have signalled their intention to send referee/judges to officiate next month. Trinidad James Beckles will host a workshop for officials prior to the start of the tournament.