With the London Olympics only six months away it is not too late for some of Cayman’s athletes to still qualify. The boxers are certainly optimistic about their chances which is why the boxing association kicks off its schedule next week in Jamaica. To help fund the trip to Kingston the boxers are doing a bike-a-thon just before they leave.
Nine Cayman boxers, including two women, will be heading for Kingston on 20 January to take on the Jamaican national team. The Jamaicans were soundly beaten here a couple of months ago so they want revenge. Cayman’s team includes Dariel Ebanks and Kendall Ebanks who have a London berth firmly in their sights. The other Caymanians matched are promising novice brothers Diego and Raymond Rodriguez, Tafari Ebanks, Thomas McField-Brown, Gino ‘Crusher’ Brown and the women boxers Jessica McFarlane-Richards and Tracey Seymour. The show is outdoors at the Barbican Field on Barbican Road. Cayman coaches making the trip are Donie Anglin and Norman Wilson.
Stephen Jones, President of the Jamaica Boxing Association, said; “We are excited about Cayman sending over their team because like us you have a great programme too. Like Cayman we’re trying to build up boxing here to the level it was before. We also want Caribbean boxing to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Two of the most intriguing fights will be Dariel facing Jonathon Hanson and Jessica taking on Felice Groves again. They fought here last year. Hanson appeared to be winning on points but got disqualified seconds from the end for foul language to referee Phillmore Barnett. Like Dariel, Hanson hopes to get to London where he boxed for years with the Fitzroy Lodge club until relocating to Jamaica. Jessica and Groves have fought each other several times and are always so closely matched that the judges have a hard time in making their decision. Jessica won the last one convincingly but collapsed in her corner through sheer exhaustion and partly through being asthmatic, but she is confident she can repeat that victory.
Dariel has already earned a place at a high performance camp in Cardiff, Wales next month before competing in the Olympic qualifiers in Rio de Janeiro in May. Already ranked in the world’s top 30, light-heavyweight Dariel is fully focused, as is lightweight Kendall who hopes to compete in the Independence Cup in Santiago, Dominican Republic next month.
The Bahamas boxing team has been invited to compete here next month and there is a trip planned for Cayman’s boxers to go to Palm Bay, Florida in March to fight in the Sun Coast Championships in Brevard County. There could also be a trip to Brazil in May and New York in June.
The optimism is not misplaced as Cayman won three golds and two silvers at a big tournament in Barbados just before Christmas. Dariel, Tafari and Thomas McField-Brown got gold and Gino ‘Crusher’ Brown and Kendall Ebanks won silver.
Jessica and Tracey could be going to the Olympics too. They are two of the most accomplished female pugilists in the Caribbean and hope to grab a London berth through the qualifiers in Quinhuangdao, China in May.
This busy and highly successful programme is evidently costly and the boxing association is grateful to Minister of Sports Mark Scotland for his support and Premier McKeeva Bush for approving payment. Cayman Airways has been extremely supportive too as have the many corporate sponsors. The boxers are doing their bit too.
They had a successful bike-a-thon to raise cash for the programme a few months ago and are repeating it from the D. Dalmain Ebanks Gym to Public Beach and back, ten miles in total on Wednesday 18 January from 5.30pm.
To sponsor the boxers and for more information, contact Shernett Watson on 939-8284 or email: [email protected]
Related Videos
