By Rawle Toney

THE Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) yesterday came to the aid of National middleweight champion Dennis `Menace’ Thomas and light heavyweight Desmond Amsterdam who will depart Guyana today for the Olympic Qualifiers set for Buenos Aires, Argentina from March 9 to 20. Sebert Blake will double as manager and coach for the two fighters who are both hoping to follow in the footsteps of Michael Parris; Guyana’s lone Olympic Games medallist (bronze). He did it in the sport of boxing at the 1980 event in Moscow.
President of the GOA, K.A Juman-Yassin, wished both fighters the best of luck and hope that they become the first Guyanese fighters to qualify for the Olympics since John Douglas’ participation at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
Yassin said that the GOA is happy to support the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) in their attempt to preserve the sport’s rich history and more so, to see two young fighters eager to represent their country.
Blake, upon receiving the cheque of an undisclosed sum, expressed gratitude and breathed a sigh of relief, noting the GBA had struggled to get the adequate finances needed to properly prepare the fighters and take care of their stay in the South American country.
Thomas is a policeman by profession and is one of the most experienced amateur fighters in the country, winning the National middleweight championship three consecutive years and was voted GABA Best Boxer in 2014.
The 23-year-old Amsterdam hails from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and is yet to be defeated in 15 fights. He won a gold medal at the recently held Caribbean Development Tournament.