Ecuador pledges participation in local boxing tournaments

By Jemima Holmes

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) is looking to step up the quality of competition at regional and international levels, and according to GBA President Steve Ninvalle, the formula is to have better opponents.

Ninvalle disclosed exclusively to Guyana Times Sport that he has sought participation from boxing powerhouse Ecuador for regional tournaments.
“What we will be doing whenever we host (championship) tournaments is that we will be bringing Latin America into it,” Ninvalle said as he made the disclosure to this publication.
The GBA President explained the rationale behind this move: “I don’t think we can wait anymore. Our level of boxing has been dormant, and it has remained (stagnated) at a certain level because of the fact that we have been fighting one set of people over and over.
“If we need to make an impact anywhere in one of the Olympic qualifiers, then we will have to step up our competition,” he concluded.
The GBA boss’s vision has, however, not been limited only to the Caribbean Boxing Championships which are slated for Guyana in 2021, but also for any other international tournament.
“So, with that said, I have spoken to the President of the Ecuador Boxing Federation, Alex Gonzalez, and he has already pledged his support for whenever (the tournament is held). Not only (for the) Caribbean Championships, but whenever we have any international competition, Ecuador is willing to send a team,” Ninvalle shared.
This newly formed pact with Ecuador is not limited only to tournaments, but also extends to training opportunities and camps.
“Ecuador is also willing to host our boxers if there’s a training camp. You would have known that Cuba, during the course of this year, sent their national team for encampment in Ecuador. So, Ecuador remains one of the powerhouses in boxing in this region, along with Cuba, Brazil and Argentina,” The GBA President revealed.
Quizzed about his view on whether or not the Caribbean Boxing Championships can be pulled off next year, with the coronavirus pandemic still lurking, Ninvalle answered in the affirmative, sharing that it would be based on one condition.
“Yes, I am optimistic, but it’s about the time. As it is right now, some of the Caribbean countries are not opened as Guyana is. So, we have to wait, not on us, but we’ll have to wait on them,” he said.
Guyana won the Caribbean Championships in 2016 and 2018, in both of the years in which it hosted the event. However, the Land of Many Waters missed out in 2017, when the event was hosted in St Lucia, and finished third in 2019, when competing in Trinidad and Tobago.