JAMAICA Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) president Stephen Jones is optimistic of the chances of Jovan Young and Reece Shagourie at the Pan-American (Pan-Am) Games to be staged in Guadalajara, Mexico in October.

Jones was wary of the effect of the expected high altitude, but said he is looking forward to strong performances from Young in the light heavyweight class and Shagourie in the middleweight category.

The city of Guadalajara lies approximate 5,000 feet above sea level, and according to Jones, the JBBC is hopeful of giving the fighters every opportunity to become accustomed to the rarefied air.

“I’m expecting good things from our boxers. They have trained hard and they have been around the international circuit to know what to expect. The biggest challenge they have, and it’s one that every athlete has, is the altitude in Mexico. We’ll try to arrange and see how many days before the start (of the competition) we can get there.

“I think we should medal but hearing about the altitude and trying to be prepared can be a different thing from actually experiencing it. So it depends on how quickly they acclimatise to the conditions and that will determine how good they can perform, but otherwise I think they are prepared to take on anybody,” said the recently-appointed president.

The British-based duo of Young and Shagourie won respective silver and bronze medals in the final Pan-Am qualifier, which was held in Panama from July 1-8.

After benefitting from a bye to reach the semi-final, Young, who had won bronze for Jamaica in the middleweight division at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico last July, out-boxed Nicaragua’s Osmar Bravo, 13-10. He, however, had to settle for second place behind Jose Soto of Puerto Rico, who won the final by a 16-6 scoreline.

Shagourie opened with a 7-4 victory over Guatemala’s Elmer Salguero, and followed up with a 27-10 spanking of Uruguay’s Mathias Marino, but then lost to eventual gold medallist Junior Castillo of the Dominican Republic, 11-3.