CARIBBEAN bantamweight champion Keevin Allicock stormed to a convincing victory against Cuban boxer Victor Abreu in his first boxing competition in Cuba, but some of Guyana’s other Olympic hopefuls were not as successful.

Allicock and three other boxers, middleweight Desmond Amsterdam, light welterweight Colin Lewis (both former Caribbean champions) and light heavyweight Dennis Thomas (a Caribbean two-time silver medallist) are current in month-two of a three-month training stint on the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island.

The boxers are hoping to get into shape for the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers, scheduled for March 26 to April 3 in Argentina as they aim to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics (July 24 to August 9).

In the recent competition at the Sancti Spiritus province (almost in the middle of the island), Allicock registered an easy 3-0 win. Amsterdam on the other hand, lost a close points-decision to Jorge Cuellar; while Thomas’s match against Lazaro Fiss was stopped in the second round by coach Francisco Roldan after Thomas hurt his hand.
Colin Lewis did not compete as he was battling a bout of influenza.

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According to information out of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), seasoned boxing coach Roldan is pleased with the overall performance of the boxers.

In a release, it was pointed out that the former Guyana-based Cuban coach said that “he was pleased with the performance of the boxers and declared that all will be ready for the Olympic Qualifiers next month”.

The boxers are expected to participate in another tournament next week.
The Government of Guyana and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) made the training-stint in Cuba possible.