Kendall Ebanks is in high spirits after winning light-welterweight gold in the Novice Division at the Florida State Golden Gloves Championships over the weekend.
He won two bouts and received a bye on his way to the victory in St Petersburg. Ebanks is on a roll, having won a silver medal in another high profile tournament in Barbados last month.
Ebanks is a member of Cayman’s national team and says winning in large tournaments like this gives him confidence as he hopes he can still secure an Olympic qualifying bid. “I feel really good about the way I won,” he said. “I fought a tough opponent in the final and had to use my jab a lot. My coaches Silky Wilky and Norman Wilson told me to use my jab and be very aggressive. It worked because I gave him two standing counts.”
The 21-year-old fighter boxed in the 142lbs division but his Olympic intention is to drop to lightweight which is 132lbs. “I can get down to 134 quite easily but the last two pounds are really tough.
“That victory gave me a lot of confidence. There’s a tournament next month in the Dominican Republic, the Independence Cup. I’m training hard and hoping to get there because the people I fight in that tournament will be in the Olympic qualifiers too.”
Seven Cayman boxers are fighting against the Jamaican national team in Kingston this weekend. Ebanks won’t be going but Cayman will be well represented by Dariel Ebanks who is another Olympic hopeful. The boxers held a bike-a-thon on Wednesday to help raise funds for the trip.
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