A boxing programme that started two years ago is set to be put to the test when the AIBA World Championships get under way on Friday (October 22) and will run until November 8 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Coach Reynold Cox and Olympic fighter Nigel Paul are hoping to use the championships as a gauge for the local boxers, ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Paul, who missed out on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in Japan held in July/August, wants to begin his climb to the top 20 boxers in the world. He told Guardian Media Sports this is an important feature of the World Championships, it allows boxers to get world rankings.
"The World Championships for me and the rest of the team is very important. It's where we actually get our world ranking. As you know for the first time in the history of Trinidad, we have five boxers in the world rankings, so giving the new boxers an opportunity to go out there and actually have a world ranking is important for the team. And for me to get back into the top 20," Paul explained.
He is one of five boxers who will be testing their skills following a two-year programme in Belmont, that was supported financially by the management and staff of Lall and Company Custom Brokers, Dockside Food Company (Richard Tywany), Tradewinds Travel, Jo Sing Limited, the Comptroller of Customs, the O/C of Aviation Business Ltd, Navin Madoo and Artemis Energy Limited.
Another Olympic boxer Aaron Prince will attempt to make up for a first-fight exit in Tokyo when he was beaten by Andrej Csemez in the middleweight category. Also on the team are Blessing Waldrop (63kg), Anthony Joseph (60kg) and Donnell Phillips (57kg). Tianna Guy, another boxer to have benefited from the programme, will head out to Ireland for a training camp.
Paul missed out on the Tokyo Games based on an inferior ranking to his counterparts but he told Guardian Media Sports, he is ready to compete in Serbia.
"I had enough time to prepare, I had a lengthy period to get over whatever injuries I had, while the coaching staff really did push the boxers who did not go to the Olympics, as we kept on training and now it's on to the next phase."
Meanwhile, Cox described the programme as a stepping stone to where he wants his fighters to be.
He said: "I think this is like the backbone of what we want to do for the guys. We have five guys going to the World Championships, we have Tianna Guy going to a training camp in Ireland and we also have a few boxers preparing for the Pan American Youth Juniors.
"So we've been preparing very hard with these guys for the last two years in a pandemic, which has been very difficult for us in Trinidad. People can now see where we are as opposed to the rest of the world because we really want to do well.
"Next year is Commonwealth Games and we really want to be prepared for that."
