A Bahamian boxing executive who has spent all his life engrossed in the sport is the new president of the Commonwealth Boxing Council which governs all professional boxers under the Commonwealth banner.
Fred Sturrup was elected last week and he is thrilled with his latest appointment which goes along with many other boxing titles he holds. You could say, Sturrup is the undisputed champ of boxing officials in the Caribbean.
His regular job is associate editor of The Nassau Guardian but at every conceivable opportunity, Sturrup is involved in the administration and promoting of the sport he loves.
A thrilled Sturrup said: ‘My presidency will propel the entire boxing programme in the region. I will now be able to add to what I have been doing in the past.
‘I will have meetings in the region to consult with boxing leaders, amateur and professional regarding their needs.’
He is talking with various boxing people in London about exchange amateur programmes and Sturrup has African colleagues who want to bring in professional fighters and have Caribbean fighters travel to African cities for matches.
Sturrup added: ‘My Pan American Caribbean Boxing Organization which networks tournaments for regional amateurs and solicits equipment and sports attire for them.
‘I’ve made two sets of presentations to the Jamaican Boxing Board, to Puerto Rico and The Bahamas will work along with the Commonwealth Council as an associate member.
‘This is an interesting period for Caribbean sports. I am thankful to my colleagues in the United Kingdon, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria, etc and of course Jamaica and Trinidad/Tobago for showing the kind of confidence in me to elect me president.’
Sturrup is steeped in boxing from childhood. His initial interest in sports was pushed into a sleepy little boy of four.
At that age, his father, the late Robert Sturrup, who loved baseball and boxing, would wake him to listen to late-night boxing on radio and he would insist little Fred must listen with him to the afternoon baseball games out of the United States on weekends and some nights.
‘So as a little boy, I listened to fights featuring the late Floyd Patterson against Tommy ‘Hurricane’ Jackson and others as he moved towards meeting the ‘Old Mongoose’ Archie Moore in 1956 for the world heavyweight title vacated by Rocky Marciano.’
During that time, Sturrup listened to fights with the great Sugar Ray Robinson, the Bahamian fight Yama Bahama, fighting against the likes of Isaac Logart and others.
‘So my early foundation was solid. Later on, Charlie Major Sr. a former world class high jumper who won the Millrose Games and the AAU GAmes in the USA back in the 1920s, became my mentor.
‘He promoted boxing matches. At 19, I was a part of the founding group for the Amateur Boxing Assocation of the Bahamas.’
Sturrup was the first secretary and entrusted with the responsibility of connecting the new organization with the International Amateur Boxing Association and the rest of the world.
He also served that organization as president for seven years and worked the corners of the first Bahamian to win a boxing medal, middleweight Nat Knowles in 1974 at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
He also worked the corner the first time The Bahamas was represented in boxing at the Olympics. That was 1972 in Munich, Germany.
‘Incidentally, I worked the corner of our welterweight champion Gary Davis who actually lost decisions to two future regional brothers who became world champions.
‘He lost to a young Mike McCallum at the 1974 CAC Games in Santo Domingo and to Maurice Hope who was representing Great Britain in 1972.’
Hope was London based and but has lived in his Antigua homeland for the past 20 years.
Sturrup also understudied the great Angelo Dundee. In the early 1970s, Dundee was busy and couldn’t take one of his fighters to challenge John Conteh for the Commonwealth light-heavyweight title in Nottingham, England.
He called his young protege Sturrup and gave him the chore of taking Baby Boy Rolle to England.
‘I worked his corner against the great Conteh. We lost a decision. I also worked the corner with Dundee in the Felt Forum when Jimmy Ellis fought Ernie Shavers.
‘Right now, I wear a number of boxing hats. Apart from being the new president of the Commonwealth Boxing Council, I am president of the Pan American Caribbean Boxing Organization, Secretary
to the Bahamas Boxing Commission, Honarary President of the Amateur Boxing Federation of The Bahamas and regional director for the Caribbean Awards Sports Icons.’
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