Amateur boxing will take centre stage for the month of January when the T&T Amateur Boxing Association, in collaboration with LAY Management Group [LMG] and the Pearl & Bunty Lara Foundation host Tuesday Night Boxing at the Castle [TNBC] at Brian Lara’s residence, starting tonight at 7 pm, and continuing for the next two Tuesdays.
Top boxers, currently preparing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, will take to the ring with some 10 bouts, five men and five women.
Lara said in keeping with the goals of the Olympic Movement, he wanted to nurture and advance sports in T&T where local representatives were given the best chance to compete in what he described as the sporting world’s largest and most spectacular games.
He noted that the philosophy of the Olympic Charter was aligned with his vision for sport in T&T and the critical role he believes it can and should play in society.
“Simply put, it is to contribute to building a better T&T by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play’.
He said it was with this in mind, that the LMG and Pearl & Bunty Lara Foundation was proud to work with the Amateur Boxing Association to begin building this movement of support for sports, sportsmen and sportswomen.
He further added, “Amateur boxing in T&T, like many other sports does not have the sufficient support mechanisms to ensure that the boxers have the environment to truly channel their energies and hard work towards ultimate success in the global ring and herein lies the opportunity to make the difference in the lives of these young men and women. We firmly believe that this can be a great start to revitalize and invigorate the sport to begin building a more attractive and steady environment where the fighters can showcase and sharpen their skills and where more attention will be given to the sport. I remember the pride I felt when celebrating the successes of Claude Noel and Leslie “Tiger” Stewart and their astonishing feats on the world stage, and this is our objective. This is what we want the our young sportsmen and sportswomen to aspire to, ultimate success in their sporting discipline on a global scale. We want to do what we can to provide the nurturing environment that allows our amateur boxers to achieve this.”
Reynold Cox, vice president of the Amateur Boxing Association thank the cricket legend for the opportunity. “It is absolutely wonderful that our boxers can have this opportunity and have such a stage to perform on. I hope that more attention will be given to boxing in this way. This Tuesday Night Boxing at the Castle provides a unique, competitive and entertaining means to promote the sport and we at the Association are committed to doing more of the same for our boxers. I am extremely happy to officially share that we will also be using these matches for national selection for our Olympic team,”said Cox.
Michael Alexander, 60K Commonwealth Games bronze medalist and one of the boxers in the main bout, was full of praise for this initiative, “We cannot begin to thank Mr Lara and the Association for this amazing show of support. To have this happen at this time, is like a dream come true and the perfect platform for us leading into the qualifying stages of the Olympics. We are humbled and thankful to all the parties involved.”