TT to host Caribbean Boxing Champs

TT WILL be the host country for the 2019 Caribbean Boxing Championships, which will be staged from December 4-9.

The bouts will be contested at the Pleasantville Indoor Sports Complex.

Former national boxing champ and TT Boxing Association (TTBA) representative Ria Ramnarine, at a media conference yesterday at the Media Room, Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, said, “The Caribbean Championships is regarded as the mini Olympics of boxing in our region, and to be the host is most certainly an opportunity to deliver the best of our local and regional boxing.”

TT last hosted the Caribbean Championships in 2008, but the tournament was inactive until its resumption in 2015 under the name of the Caribbean Development Tournament.

Ramnarine revealed that at least three countries applied to stage this year’s Championships, but TT got the nod from the American Boxing Confederation and the Caribbean Boxing Steering Committee.

Over 200 boxers from 20 countries will be involved, including Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. “This is the first time these four countries have been invited to the Championships,” said Ramnarine.

According to Ramnarine, the budget for the tournament ranges between $750,000 and $800,000. “The TTBA is currently seeking sponsorship to defray the costs and welcomes corporate and private businesses to assist in the development of our athletes,” she said. “We have confidence that we would be able to raise the funds.”

The local contingent will be selected after the TT Nationals, which is carded for late October.