A scheduled boxing bout between Soca artiste Swappi (Marvin Davis) and fellow singer Trinidad Killa (Kern Joseph) next month, will reinforce the desperation by the Sea Lots community, to bring an end to the unwanted violence among members of the depressed communities in T&T.
The bout is carded tentatively for Thanksgiving Day in the United States which will be celebrated on November 25 and promoter Randy Glasgow, a well-known promoter in the local boxing community, said the event will be streamed live to the T&T and Caribbean diaspora in the United States, describing it as an event similar to what was done by boxing icon Floyd Mayweather to several youtubers, recently.
In the past months, the Sea Lots community caught national attention with unsanctioned boxing bouts taking place amidst large gatherings which highlighted a perceived blatant disregard for the COVID-19 protocols outlined by the Ministry of Health.
Instead, however, it turned out to be a show by the community that it is fed up with the unnecessary killings of the nation's young people, coupled with attempts to chart a future for the young people in that community and other depressed communities in T&T.
Entertainer Swappi, a resident of the Sea Lots community told Guardian Media Sports: "What we're trying to do as a body and as one of the members in the Sea Lots community is for guys to put down the guns and put on the gloves. So if you have a beef with someone from another area, instead of looking to gun down each other, put on the gloves and just cuff it out. Then you tap each other on the backs, shake hands and walk home alive."
Both Swappi and Trinidad Killa have put their soca sessions on hold for now and have begun their preparation to enter the boxing ring, not with the sole intention of determining a winner, but to ensure that the young people in the depressed areas in T&T will have a future.
Swappi, the singer of a number of hits such as 'God is ah Trini', noted: "On the back of the call to put down the guns and pick up the gloves, we want to add some funds to it to get females involved. This is taking T&T by storm, even in the Caribbean as Grenada is getting involved, we see Jamaica getting involved, even New York is getting involved, so what we're doing here is taking it to the next level.
"We want to get the WBC (World Boxing Council) involved, we want to give prizes, we want to have belts, we want to have scholarships for young boxers and young talent, so it's not just about putting down the guns and picking up the gloves, we want a future out of this as well for young people.
"So we're calling out celebrities now to get involved to start and lead by example."
The entertainer, despite taking the forefront, has admitted that a number of key figures in the community have been leading the charge for the past years, such as, referring to them by their nicknames, 'Biggs', 'Vincedan' and 'Steel'.
The initiative has been picking up speed Glasgow said as discussions with the T&T Boxing Board of Control, the T&T Boxing Association which deal with amateur boxing in the country, the Ministry of Sports and Community Development, and the Ministry of Health, with the intentions of doing the right thing first before they move forward.
"It may be a little premature to say anything because we are in discussion on a kind of two-fold issue which would be Swappi, being an entertainer and Mr Killa being an entertainer, as the objective is to ask the youth to put down the guns and take up the gloves. We like the concept and we feel we're well-positioned to help so we're in discussion to take the thing to another level.
"So what you saw with the little exhibition fights, well the next time you see a fight, it will be under the auspices of one of the national organisations, you're gonna see a real boxing ring, guys doing what is necessary with an ambulance on standby etc. And at the same time, the guys within the Sea Lots area have seen a property that can be converted into a full-time gym etc. The bigger picture will be to put in the area a permanent gym where the guys can learn to box, harness their skills and so forth on a full-time basis."
The Sea Lots community will reach out to Minister of Sports Shamfa Cudjoe for assistance in securing a parcel of land that they intend to use to construct the boxing gym.
He said if the land is granted before the November fight between the entertainers, then they will hold the fight there, but if they do not get the land, the fight will be staged either at the NAPA (National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port-of-Spain), or another facility where all the COVID-19 regulations can be carried out.