Wintz overcomes nerves in pursuit of Caribbean Championships gold
A first international outing for Berbice-based pugilist Terron Wintz saw some of his wildest dreams being realised when he clinched gold in the youth category of the Caribbean Boxing Championships.
The 18-year-old toppled St Lucia’s Denzel Stephens in the 67kg final to clinch gold. His prowess in that bout forced the referee to stop the fight two minutes and 36 seconds into the second round, and earned the Guyanese the Best Youth Boxer in the Caribbean title.
Speaking with Guyana Times Sport about his preparation, Wintz explained that it took a lot of mental fortitude.
The teenager explained, “Well, basically, we trained like two weeks, but it was tough. Early-morning runs, late in the afternoon we go to the gym: we do some bag work, you know, stuff like that. But mentally, you had to be mentally strong to go through what I go through in training.”
Being his first high-calibre international bout, Wintz admitted that there were lingering nerves in his opening fight.
Terron Wintz takes a photo opportunity alongside his Coach, Jeff Roberts
“For the first fight, it was challenging for me ‘cause I was a bit nervous. I didn’t go to no kind of competition like that before, so I was a bit nervous. But after my first fight, the win gave me more confidence to go through with the next fight,” Wintz shared with this publication.
The young man, who hails from Heathburn Village, East Bank Berbice (EBB), spoke of his experiences, competing alongside some of Guyana’s current best boxers.
“They help me a lot. They taught me that patience is the key, you don’t have to rush anything in life especially in the ring, ‘cause if you rush you might get a shot and you might not see it coming. In sparring, they taught me defence, attack, all those stuff,” he explained.
Terron Wintz shows off his Caribbean Boxing Championships accolades
With the help of his trusted Coach Jeff Roberts, Wintz already has his eyes on the next international prize.
The teenage pugilist assured, “Well, it get the Continental Games coming up next month. We’re going to go out there and dominate and I know I will come back with the gold.”
Wintz’s gold was one of nine gold medals won by the Guyanese contingent, helping them to reclaim the Caribbean Boxing Championships overall title.
