Gold and Silver for Boxers at Schoolboys Championships

Saint Lucia emerged with gold and silver, for two relatively unknown boxers, at the recent Fourth Caribbean Schoolboys and Juniors Boxing Championships in Guyana. That could change  in a hurry, judging by their recent performance in the boxing ring.

It was no surprise that Guyana placed first overall with 11 gold and two silver medals for a total of 30 points. Trinidad and Tobago, which brought the largest contingent, placed second with 12 points, having won two gold medals. Saint Lucia placed third with five points, which is quite an accomplishment given the fact their team consisted of only two boxers: Gilchris Medard and Krishone Pierre who both fought in the 52kg weight class.

Medard, in his first ever bout, won a close decision over his Guyanese opponent Dwayne Castello who has 17 bouts under his belt. Medard used his jab effectively to keep his opponent at bay. 

Reporting on the bout, Kaieteur News online publication in Guyana stated: “In the opening round Castello was kept at long range by Medard’s long pawing left jabs, but he soon got on the inside and peppered the St Lucian with digs to the body as he backed him up against the ropes. In the second round Medard danced away from Castello’s punches and scored a few long range shots to Castello’s head, but the Guyanese counterpunched with body shots which pushed Medard back. The final round saw Medard using his reach to good effect as Castello charged him and landed some nice combinations, but most of them were taken on the gloves or shoulder of Medard.” 

To get an idea of Medard’s state of mind when he took on Castello, I asked him following his arrival at George FL Charles Airport on Tuesday: “How were you feeling when the opening bell rang? He replied: “I was never nervous. I was very confident coming into the ring. I watched the fight that Krishone lost and it gave me more confidence to go through as the underdog. After the referee rang the bell, I jabbed and moved. The Guyanese, most of them are brawlers, so I stayed outside and used my jabs, my long reach.”

Pierre was also the underdog against highly rated Guyanese Richard Howard. Pierre received three standing eight counts and, as a result, went all out in the third round, realizing he needed a knockout to upset his opponent.

Referring to late in the third round of that bout, a quote from the Kaieteur News online stated: “Pierre, engaging in gamesmanship, dropping his guard and inviting Howard to come into his range and hit him, but the Guyanese tried to use his jabs and survived a late rally as the St Lucian threw some big heave-hoes in the dying stages of the contest.” 

Despite the loss, Pierre remained upbeat and vowed that next time his silver will turn into gold. For him, boxing is a redeemer after being suspended following an incident at the Vide Bouteille Secondary School. He told me: “From the time I joined boxing, I got off the street. I tell everybody: ‘Boxing is a hard sport. When you join, you are going to take a lot of pressure. If you love the sport you will stay with the sport. If you like hard work you will stay in the sport and, if you don’t like hard work, you will be out of the sport. So if you come into boxing come with an open heart and open mind for you to win competitions to make your family proud, make your country proud.’”

For President of the St Lucia Amateur Boxing Association, David “Shakes” Christopher, it was more icing on the cake. Christopher was the Chef de Mission at the recently concluded Pan American Games in Lima, Peru where Saint Lucia came away with a gold and bronze medal. Undoubtedly, that has him in a good frame of mind for his upcoming Blackheart/SLFA Knockout Football Tournament.

After concluding their interviews, both boxers thanked the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, and especially Minister Edmund Estephane, for assisting with Saint Lucia’s participation at the competition.