Board exec buoyed by hype over Feb 27 bout
JAMAICA Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) vice-president Stephen ‘Bomber’ Jones is confident the February 27 date set for professional and amateur fight cards at the Barbican Beach Football Field will be a success.
According to Jones, the expected appearance of the 2009 novice ABA London 64kg champion Phillip Bowes and local amateur welterweight champion Sakima Mullings is likely to lure fans to the venue.
Bowes, who has Jamaican ancestry, is reportedly eager to represent Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games in October in the light welterweight class.
Mullings, on the other hand, will be anxious to finally make his professional debut after Glenroy Beckford failed to show up for weigh-in and medical inspection prior to their much-anticipated fight in Montego Bay back in January.
Jones added that the fight date later this month should allow the board to set a platform to convince sponsors to inject more funding into the sport.
“This is one I want to use as a kind of banner for what we want to do going forward. I want the venue to be set up nice enough so that I can have an area for prospective corporate sponsors to come and look at the talent and get a gist of where we want to go and what we’re trying to do, not just for this year being a Commonwealth year, but also Olympics 2012,” he said.
“Sakima will finally get to make his debut as he’ll be a part of the main event at the end of the amateur bouts,” he added.
The Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi, India, in October this year, while the next Olympic Games will start in July 2012 in London, England.
Meanwhile, the JBBC exec told the Observer that gyms across the island have been doing their part to ensure the event is a success, despite limited resources.
“The boxing fraternity is very excited and all the gyms are participating and having boxers filling the gyms, so with very little promotion, the buzz on the street is there,” he said.
While explaining that the Barbican venue holds approximately 500 people, Jones said for future bouts, the JBBC may have to seek alternative options to facilitate growing interest from boxing fans.
“We’ve been getting a good crowd at the venue, but with the boxing picking up, we may have to look at bigger venues,” he stated.
