Guyana and the Caribbean’s bantamweight Champion, Keevin Allicock, has moved up to #19 in the world, according to the latest International Boxing Association (AIBA) rankings.

The ranking, which Allicock told Chronicle Sport is a “blessing,” made him the only Guyanese named on the AIBA listing.

“I really appreciate this because there are like over 2000 boxers in the division (bantamweight) and to know that I’m ranked in the top 20 is something special for me and my country,” Allicock said in an exclusive interview with Chronicle Sport.

Allicock, 21, won Silver at the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas. He said he’s grateful for the exposure given by the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), which allowed him to compete at the almost every major sporting event that had warranted the representation of boxing.

Delon Allicock, Keevin’s older brother, was the last Guyanese boxer to be highly-ranked by AIBA and was also coached by Sebert Blake.

“It feels good following in my brother’s footsteps, which makes this feeling even more special. However, I have a long way to go. This ranking shows that we have talented boxers in Guyana that can compete with anyone in the world. We just need the exposure and we’ll do great. I hope that next time, we’ll have more Guyanese in the rankings as well,” Allicock noted.

The Current World Bantamweight Champion is Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov of Uzbekistan.

President of the Guyana Boxing Association Steve Ninvalle in a release congratulating Allicock, promised that it is only a matter of time before more local boxers emulate the current Caribbean bantamweight champion.

“We are proud of his achievement and our plan and expectation is that others will follow in his footsteps when the doors of boxing are opened again,” Ninvalle said.

Ninvalle revealed that Allicock’s climb on the AIBA rankings, has much to do also, with his quarter-final placing at the Pan Am Games in Peru.

In the quarter-final of the Pan Am qualifiers in Nicaragua, Allicock had loss by walkover to his Dominican Republic opponent, after the fight supervisor deemed his vest colour inappropriate for competition.

It was not only after a protest filed by Ninvalle to the sport’s governing body, was Allicock able to qualify for the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

Allicock, along with Desmond Amsterdam, Collin Lewis and Dennis Thomas, only returned to Guyana on Friday after being stranded in Cuba for 126 days, where they had gone to prepare for the now-postponed AMBC Olympic Qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Blake said Allicock’s achievement came as no surprise and said it was “only a matter of time before he’s really recognize for what he has accomplished.”

Blake noted that Allicock had done “pretty well in the Americas, even though he had some bad decisions against him. Most of the boxers that he fought went on to win medals and I think that propelled him up the ranking. It’s a great milestone for Guyanese boxing and this is a great step for Keevin as well.”

Considered as one of the finest coaches in the Caribbean, Blake said he’s in the process of completing a report to the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) and the GBA, where he will outline, based on the new AMBC requirements to train boxers using their COVID-19 measures, how Allicock and others will get back into training.

Looking ahead, Allicock said he’s staying focus to qualify for the Olympics next year, where he’s also hoping to join Michael Parris.

Parris, at the 1980 Olympics, won Bronze in the bantamweight division. It stands as Guyana’s only medal at the Olympic Games.