SERVING as both the culmination of the 2024 and commencement of the 2025 seasons, respectively, the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) will stage the Terrence Ali National Open Championships from Friday, January 17-19, at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue.
The event, which was postponed from its initial start date of December 12, 2024, is expected to feature participation from notable gyms such as the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Police Force, Young Achievers, Pace and Power, Forgotten Youth Foundation, Rose Hall, the Andrew Lewis Gym, Pocket Rocket, New Amsterdam Academy, Vergenoegen, and Republicans.
Among the notable names that will enter the squared circle are world-rated pugilists Desmond Amsterdam and Abiola Jackman, as well as Colin Lewis.
The tournament, which is the most important competition on the sport’s local calendar, will be the first major championship under the GBA umbrella since the unexpected passing of the entity’s long-serving technical director, Terrence Poole, on October 3rd, 2024.
It will also be the first tournament for the GDF without the services of Poole, who served in the capacity of head trainer and was directly responsible for their overall dominance on the local circuit. This will be a major angle and talking point as to whether the GDF can maintain its hegemonic status.
GBA President Steve Ninvalle said, “As the most important local event in our discipline, the Terrence Ali National Open Championships has the distinct honour of serving as the conclusion of the 2024 season and the beginning of the 2025 calendar of activities. The championship has historically functioned as a link or conduit between amateur and professional competitions, and its significance has appropriately increased with each iteration, given that it showcases the best of Guyana and provides an insight into our current and near future in the amateur or potential professional ranks.”
According to Ninvalle, “In [the] light of coach Terrence Poole’s recent death in October 2024, one of the main topics that will be covered and examined during the tournament is whether GDF can continue to dominate. Although everyone has experienced loss, boxing is a competitive sport where losing a coach can be especially distressing. In contrast to team sports, where established roles offer a structure for continuity, boxing is often based on the intensely intimate and frequently complex bond between a trainer and his fighters. In addition to being a strategist, the coach serves as a confidante, mentor, source of inspiration, and objective critical eye.”
Ninvalle added, “Unquestionably, behind the success of every champion or successful pugilist is a dedicated team, and the coach is the central figure of that group and, in this case, the person who engineered their success. Terrence Poole has guided the GDF to the top in his time. We will have to see how current champions carry on from here.”
The National Open will commence at 7pm each evening. The boxers will weigh in tomorrow (Thursday) at the same venue.