Ninvalle proud of Allicock’s performance despite loss

Despite missing a Pan American Games 2019 medal by just a few points, the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) President Steve Ninvalle is proud of the stellar performance by Guyanese Boxer Keevin Allicock in Lima, Peru on Monday evening.
It was the Bantamweight quarterfinal bout at the 2019 Pan American Games and a confident Keevin Allicock brought all he had to the table but could not walk away with a reward for his stellar performance.
Allicock, one of Guyana’s best chances at copping a Pan Am medal this year, was pitted against Uruguay’s Lucas Fernandes and lost the bout 2-3. Allicock was given the nod by two of the judges (29-28 and 30- 27) but the others scored in his opponents favor, causing the Guyanese to miss out on the bronze medal.
In spite of this, President of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) Steve Ninvalle expressed pride in Allicock’s showing at the 2019 games and disclosed that if it were up to him, the Guyanese pugilist would have graced the podium.
“There’s a very slim line between winning and losing and most of the times we’ll find that the judges are the ones who determine that border. If you’d ask me, I’m not a judge, I’m not a referee but from a layman point of view, I believe that Keevin did everything in order to secure that medal,” Ninvalle stated.
He went on to share that while missing out on the medal was disappointing, the Association is pleased with the boxer’s improvements.
“We are disappointed with him not winning but we’re not disappointed with the effort he actually showed. I think Keevin has improved leaps and bounds and as I said before, this is the best preparation that he’s had for any tournament. He’s only 20 years old, he can only get better.”
Looking to the future, Ninvalle revealed that the next major tournament the amateur boxers will be looking at is the Olympic Qualifier, and Allicock will be joined by a small group of Guyanese pugilists who have intentions of competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Furthermore, he also expressed gratitude to the GOA for their support.
“We must say thank you to the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), they came on board without us asking and supported him going to Cuba. We have the Olympic Qualifiers coming up and we expect that Keevin and at least four of our other elite boxers should have time overseas training for that,” Ninvalle said. (Jemima Holmes)