THE Trinidad and Tobago two-member contingent of Prince Charles and Shania Nunez will add international flavour to the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA)’s under-16 Championship, which is penciled to commence this evening at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

The competition is sponsored by Sthimkhal Inc. and according to GBA head, Steve Ninvalle, this is the first of many engagements his association will be having with the company.

Charles, who is under the tutelage of Jason Aqui, was initially slated to battle rising star, Jeremiah Duncan; the best boxer at the previous iteration of the Caribbean School Boys and Junior Championships that was hosted on local soil.

However, Charles will now battle replacement, Tiquan Sampson, from the Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym.

Meanwhile, Nunez will enter the squared circle against Taffina Barker.

Ninvalle said, “Our youth developmental programme resumes with this historic initiative, which highlights our continued emphasis on creating a transitionary pathway amongst the respective age groups. International exposure is vital, and the under-16 age group remains the most pivotal step in the transition between junior and senior ranks.

“This programme, which is firmly grounded in youth development, was primarily created to advance the sport, and concretise on the building blocks from the infancy stage. This initiative of creating avenues for international exposure for our emerging talents will be an ensuing facet of [the] tournament.”

Meanwhile, Terrence Poole, Technical Director of the GBA, said, “Being the first junior tournament of the year, we expect people to come out and give their support to the boxers. The exposure for the boxers in the international fights will serve them well in the future, and we aim to continue to add international flavour to each of the U-16 events.”

Staged twice on a monthly basis, the U16 championships is inherently linked to the Caribbean School Boys and Juniors Competition, as it serves as the association’s primary preparatory mechanism.

Approximately 16 editions were conducted in the previous year by the GBA, winner of the 2022 Sports Association of-the-Year award. That record is slated to be shattered in the current calendar year, as another episode of the competition is penciled to be staged on April 29th at the same facility and will feature international participation.

The resumption of the monthly programme also orients with the GBA’s ongoing weekly training regimen for U-16 and Senior pugilists at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown.

The abovementioned stratagem, which is administered by the technical expertise of National coach Lennox Daniels, Technical Director Poole, and Cuban coach Francisco Roldan, serves as a high-performance system to better equip boxers for international engagements.