T&T’s eight-member amateur boxing squad, arrived in Panama last night, en route for its final destination, the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) Americas Continental Olympic Qualifiers, staged in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The team is expected to arrive in Sao Paolo, Brazil, from Panama, at 9 am this morning, before arriving in Rio de Janiero at 10 am, just over 48 hours before the start of the competition. The draw for the tournament will be made, tomorrow, the day before it commences.
It runs until May 13. The team, consisting of two US-based fighters, Carlos Suarez (junior flyweight) and Lawrence Singh (flyweight), along with Canada-based Lexon Bates (junior welterweight) and locals Aaron Prince (welterweight), Michael Alexander (lightweight), Devon Jones (heavyweight), Shakir Garcia (bantamweight), Declan Calliste (light heavyweight) and Andrew Fermin (middleweight), will be up against formidable opposition, from across North, Central and South America, as well as from the Caribbean. Thirty-eight spots are available over ten weight classes in the entire tournament, with T&T ultimately competing for nine.
The T&T team has travelled with special advisor to the T&T Boxing Board of Control, Boxu Potts, as well as president of the T&T Amateur Boxing Association, Cecil Forde, both of whom will manage the team. Reynold Cox and Rolston Dopwell have also made the trip, as coach and assistant coach, respectively. Among the boxers who are expected to lead the team in terms of experience are the most senior members of the team, CAC Games bronze medallist Prince and CAC Games silver medallist, 24-year-old, Fermin. Flyweight division fighter Lawrence is the youngest member of the T&T team, at 17 years old. Lawrence, a raw talent, has no experience in international competition, but has impressed in dozens of victorious bouts in his hometown in Ohio, and is expected to feature brightly at the competition.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt