Gold and silver for St Lucian boxers at Caribbean Championships

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s far as the St Lucia Amateur Boxing Association was concerned it was quality and not quantity when two of their boxers competed at the Caribbean Boxing Championships in Guyana over the weekend.

St Lucia’s two boxers Lyndel “The Russian” Marcellin and Arthur Langellier gave a good account of themselves medal in respective weight classes. It was gold for Marcellin and silver for Langellier.

President of the St Lucia Amateur Boxing Association, David “Shakes” Christopher along with Manager “Joseph “Reds” Perreira and Coach Conrad Fredericks accompanied the boxers.

Commenting on Marcellin’s gold medal performance Perreira said: “Marcellin defended his title and defended it well. He was never under any pressure in all the bouts and in the final easily stopped the Barbadian Jamal Edmund in one minute 33 seconds in the first round with a cut eye. Marcellin was never really in any pressure during the bouts heading up to the final and he defended his title and basically was probably maybe the outstanding technical boxer although he did not get that award.”

Perreira also gave his input when it came to Langellier. “A major heroic performance came from Langellier. This man who had not boxed for three years came into the gym and got as fit as he could and was able to take on a national hero in Desmond Amsterdam of Guyana and what a bout it was. It was points to Amsterdam in the end but it did not record the fact it could have been a split decision and Amsterdam took an eight count from Langellier. The

St Lucian boxer fought with heart, he fought with soul and he gave as good as he got from the hard punching Amsterdam. It was a brilliant performance by Langellier. He got a standing ovation and a well-earned silver medal.”

Christopher congratulated both boxers and said it really shows that Lyndon Marcellin is one of the best 69 kg boxers in the region and Arthur Langelier coming back after three years going up against Amsterdam and really stunning him in the second round.

The performance by both boxers is truly amazing given the fact they did not work out under ideal conditions. The boxing gym at Vigie is still being renovated and should be completed sometime next year. With the recent success at the Caribbean Boxing Championships, officials feel St Lucian boxers will only get better once the facility is finished.     

Guyana won the overall team title with Trinidad and Tobago second, Barbados third, Martinique fourth and St Lucia fifth.

It is quite evident there is strength in numbers. Perreira pointed out that the countries ahead of St Lucia all had “bigger delegations.”