says Michael Benjamin

IF I could turn back the hands of time; even amidst the sombre lyrics of that R Kelly’s rendition, the stark reality is that what has happened in the past must be relegated to the past. However, there is nothing wrong with a peek over the shoulder, even surreptitiously, as one attempts to chart a course forward for the fistic sport of boxing which has brought tremendous glory to the’ land of many waters’.
And so it is that boxing pundits of the late seventies, early eighties, or even further back, will glance over their shoulders with a great degree of nostalgia at the great fights of those eras that has left an indelible mark in their psyches.
Boxing falls under two umbrellas: the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) oversees activities of the amateurs while the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) is the guardian of the professional pugilists. Despite operating under distinct rules and regulations, each entity supports the other and on many occasions, the heads of those bodies may see the need for collaborative efforts in achieving particular goals.
Evidence of this was apparent when the executives of the GBBC initiated the Guyana Fight Nights (GFN); a tournament that involved both amateur and professional bouts.
The organisers were, however, instructed by the International Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) to observe a thirty minute break between the professional and amateur segments to reflect the distinction of applications and rules.
The general idea of the GFN initiative was to provide frequent activity for local boxers while ensuring that they remained active and, more importantly, received a small purse to liquidate obvious expenses. It seemed as though President of the GBBC, Peter Abdool, who conceptualised the GFN initiative, had hit the nail on the head, as the idea seemed to have been producing dividends.
Boxers were able to use the initiative as a launching pad to greater achievements and indeed improved on their Caribbean, and by extension, world rankings. Many of our pugilists won Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) titles while others clinched Fecabox accolades.
These fighters included Clive Atwell, Kwesi Jones, Dexter Gonsalves, Elton Dharry and a host of others. Clive Atwell had managed to secure a world title fight largely from his activities in the GFN programme.
Recently, activities have dwindled and what was once a monthly event could not be sustained for varying reasons, the chief being inadequate corporate support.
As such, the card extended to once every few months and recently, there has been little or no activity; the final card occurring earlier this year at the Giftland Office Max. Even then, the organisers were forced to be innovative and introduced MMA Boxing to titillate fans’ interest.
Maybe, the success story of GFN might have been the vast improvement of the amateur sector. This group was able to reclaim its dominance at the Caribbean level and turned in valiant performances further afield. Yes, our boxers have totally dominated the Caribbean Development Tournament in Barbados where the entire 14 man

squad have distinguished themselves as true champions. Keevin Allicock then followed up his good showing in Barbados with a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Nassau, Bahamas.
Even as this article is being penned, he is preparing to return to Barbados to compete in a Goodwill tournament involving several other Caricom member states.
The uninitiated might want to applaud the significant strides made by the boxers and some may even nurture hopes that our boxers are receiving adequate exposure and support to achieve the feat of breaking that aged old Olympics gold medal jinx.
However, those in the know will obviously realise that the small handouts given to our boxers are totally inadequate to realistically convert to an Olympic gold medal achievement. Our administrators cannot be so naïve to think that such pitiful efforts could do the trick of achieving that coveted gold medal.
Local history is replete with boxers of phenomenal skill who have literally devastated their Caribbean, and to some extent, their Latin American counterparts, but faltered at the Olympics line.
Those were the days, in the late seventies and early eighties when our amateur pugilists matched wits and skills with their Cuban counterparts. It must be noted that around that time our boxers were most productive, winning Commonwealth and Latin American accolades.
As a matter of fact, it was during that era that Guyana managed to clinch what is still the only Olympic medal, a bronze at the hands of Michael Parris at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Since then, local pugilists have maintained their Caribbean dominance but somehow have failed to even make the grade at the Olympic qualifiers.
Meanwhile, our nemesis: Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, and Jamaica, have all laid claims to the prestigious accolade. Guyana, by extension, can only boast of a Parris’ 23 years achievement.
I started off this article by quoting R Kelly and while such nostalgia may prove to be wasted, one cannot but picture such stalwarts as Darius Forde, the late John Brummell and Winston Richards, the Houstner brothers– Allan and Dereck, and the myriad of warriors of yesteryear, whose blood have stained the canvas but valiantly trudged on to achieve major accolades for this country; it was them that had left a rich legacy for their contemporaries.
While a few of those of the latter group are showing distinct signs that goes beyond the Caribbean, they continue to falter at the Olympics. The overriding solution is simple; the need for adequate strategies, systems and funds cannot be over emphasised.