By Akeem Greene
At the invitation of President Dr. Irfaan Ali, former three-time World Champion and the last man to be undisputed heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, will visit with a mission to inspire the next generation of champions from the Caribbean.
President Ali recently announced the visit while speaking at a diaspora engagement in Canada and said these initiatives are part of strategic efforts by the government to “drive global traffic” to Guyana.
“…the engagement is to get him [Lennox Lewis] to come to Guyana and develop our boxing industry and to make Guyana an important international venue for boxing, not just cricket”, the President disclosed.
“We have to position Guyana as an international brand,” the President added.
While the dates are yet to be confirmed, Dr. Ali confidently said that Guyana has the “best natural environment” to attract international stars. Still, it is now about finding investors to amplify development.
Now 57, Lewis was born in Great Britain to Jamaican parents and moved to Canada with his mother during his early childhood. He retired atop the summit in 2004 with a record of 41-2-1 (32 KO wins, 2 KO losses).
“I am excited to come to Guyana to see the programme. Lennox Lewis Boxing League of Champions is always ready to help boxers worldwide. I am ready to help boxers, especially from the Caribbean, because I said, when last was there a Caribbean Olympic champion? I can’t remember.
“So I want to develop boxing in the Caribbean and hopefully inspire the next champion”, Lewis conveyed during an exclusive interview with News Room Sport in Canada.
Bermuda, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Puerto Rico are the countries to win a medal in the discipline.
Cuba lies second on the all-time medal table for boxing at the Olympic Games with 37 gold, 19 silver, and 17 bronze medals.
At the last Tokyo Games, they won four gold and one bronze in boxing, five out of their 15 medals, and were the only Caribbean country to medal in the discipline.
But what made Lewis so great, and how can young boxers from the Caribbean become great?
Lewis indicated it has to do with the desire to become and to become a champion; the root is sacrifice, hard work, and consistent training.
