JAMAICA Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) president William Tavares-Finson has blasted the local media for the scant attention they have paid to the sport, which was very much active and alive during 2009.

According to Tavares-Finson, spectator turnout for the numerous cards hosted by the JBBBC was incredible, but said the media was rarely present and hardly reported anything.

He had high praise for one particular reporter from TVJ, but was particularly critical of the newspapers.

“The sport, one of Jamaica’s all-time favourite, has been doing well in terms of attendance, but other than a handful of media personalities… the rest of it has been pathetic,” he lamented.

He said that the only time the media shows interest in the sport of boxing is when some controversy is brewing.

“…Imagine, I have a National Championship with over two days of boxing and I didn’t even get a blurb… as far as I know.

“They have done good work on people like Nicholas Walters, but the things is, people like Nicholas has reached already.

“They now need to focus on guys that are coming; some of the youngsters like Sakima Mulling, Michael Holmes and Ricardo Smith,” Tavares-Finson added.

He said that although his notices and e-mails have gone largely unnoticed by the press, he is hoping boxing enthusiasts can keep abreast of the latest happenings in the sport by logging on to the new website at www.jamaicaboxing.com.

After resurrecting the National Championship in 2007, after a 10-year dormancy and with the increase in the number of gyms islandwide and the number of boxers coming into the sport, Tavares-Finson is again looking for another active year.

However, he believes the ecomomic climate might have a negative impact.

“The ecomomy is going to play a big part in the sport as we go along and if things continue to get difficult ecomonically, I don’t know if a lot of the companies that came on can do it again this year,” he said.

“… A lot of sporting organisations are going to suffer from finances, but more importantly they are going to suffer from manpower because people are not really going to put their effort into non-profitable services,” he reasoned.

Tavares-Finson, who is in his second year at the helm of local boxing, said this year one of their main focuses will be the upgrading of coaches and officials.

He noted that up until now the board has been concentrating on building the gyms and recruiting young boxers. And although they have had relative success in both areas, he believes the youngsters are not getting the training that is required internationally.

“This year will be important for officials, referees, judges and time keepers, but most importantly, the upgrading of our coaches,” he stated.

According to Tavares-Finson, the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has agreed to provide the JBBC with a coach who will come in for about two weeks in February and guide local coaches.

The local boxing calender begins on January 16 with a professional-amateur card featuring local and international boxers at Montego Bay’s Pier One.