National Novices Boxing championship to commence September 29

The Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) will officially stage the 2023 edition of the Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis National Novices Championship from September 29 to October 1 at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue.

The event, which will feature participation from notable gyms such as defending champion the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force, Forgotten Youth Foundation, Pace and Power, Rose Hall, Vergenoegen and Republican, will commence on a daily basis at 18:00h.

The medical assessment and weight-in will occur on September 28 at the National Gymnasium from 16:00h.

GBA President Steve Ninvalle declared that National Novices Championship is where the sport’s developmental journey begins.

Named after Guyana’s notable world champion, the tournament has evolved into a national scouting combine for the association and acts as a conduit and bridge in a structured and methodical process, Ninvalle said.

“Each tournament hosted under the umbrella of the GBA is underpinned by its own unique objectives, and the National Novices Championship is an exhibition of the nation’s potential for the future, which continues to indicate a positive consequence given Guyana’s empirical dominance of the region. The GBA continues to emphasise the importance of such competitions, events that have an enduring importance in the overall framework for the sport. As such, its impact and value cannot be questioned, much less understated, given the influence and impetus it has provided to the sport’s fraternity,” the GBA boss added.

Meanwhile, Terrence Poole, the Technical Director of the GBA, said: “This tournament is very important to the growth of the sport; it’s the beginning stage, where we identify the talents and abilities of the fighters and the potential they have to move forward in the sport. This is where we earmark talent for the future. We are expecting a large turnout for the tournament from the various gyms. Everyone comes with the intention to win, so I expect a very competitive event.”

The championship, which is staged in honour of the former world champion, who unfortunately died on May 4, 2015, in a vehicular accident, birthed the journey of numerous of the nation’s leading premier amateur pugilists.