Guyana retain Winfield Brathwaite Caribbean title

In spite of being challenged fiercely in the ring by their Caribbean counterparts over the weekend, Guyana retained their overall championship title at the Winfield Brathwaite Caribbean Schoolboys and Junior Championships on Saturday night following another evening of riveting boxing action at the youth level.
Aside from the hosts, the Schoolboys and Juniors Championships attracted competitors from Trinidad and Tobago, St Maarten, St Lucia, Suriname, and The Bahamas.
The final night of the competition at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown saw a battle between Guyana’s Junior Madray and Trinidad and Tobago’s Shawn Ramnauth opening the evening’s international action.
Madray got the better of his opponent from the twin-island republic in the 37-40kg bout with a victory on points.
His compatriot, Isiah Nurse went on to pull off a win of his own on points, downing Kurt Mahase in the 52-56kg bout.

Another win for Guyana came by way of Ryan Rogers in the 57-60 kg bout as he overcame Fabio Jacob of Trinidad on points.
Unfortunately for the hosts, Ken Harvey missed out in the 60-63kg bout, going down to St Lucia’s Nachan Alex.
Jofes Jackson battled hard to return the Guyanese camp to winning ways and eventually did so in the 71-74kg battle. Jackson pulled off a split-decision victory over St Maarten’s Samir Arndell.
Daniel Martin of St Lucia later got the better of Guyana’s Oasis Prince in the 75kg final. In addition, Ukesh Persaud also enjoyed a victory via the RSC (Referee Stops Contest) route when he faced off with Nazram Sugrim.
For the Winfield Brathwaite Memorial’s individual awards, Imotep Vanderstoop was adjudged the Best Boxer in the Under-13 division while Lennox Lawrence was the best U17 boxer. In addition, Lekiem Amores Barroso was the U19s’ best boxer, to complete Guyana’s sweep of the individual awards.
When the dust settled, Guyana extended their lengthy run of dominance in the Winfield Brathwaite Memorial tournament with eight gold medals and two silver medals, thus securing another overall win with 18 points accumulated. St Lucia ended the championships as runners-up, accumulating two gold and two silver medals for six points. Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago collected three silver medals for three points. St Maarten secured two silver medals for two points, with The Bahamas earning one silver medal and one point.

For the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), the successful staging of the championships was also significant, given the logistical and organisational challenges associated with bringing together young athletes from several Caribbean territories.
GBA President Steve Ninvalle said he was pleased with the overall outcome of the tournament and particularly encouraged by the response from the Caribbean boxing fraternity.
Ninvalle expressed satisfaction that despite the challenges encountered in preparing for and hosting the championships, regional associations continued to support the initiative and send their young boxers to compete in Guyana.
The championships also provided valuable competitive exposure for the Region’s emerging fighters while giving the GBA an opportunity to assess the progress of its own developing talent against opposition from across the Caribbean.
Guyana’s overwhelming medal haul, coupled with the sweep of the three Best Boxer awards, left little doubt about the country’s current strength at the schoolboy and junior level, according to Ninvalle.