AIBA donates boxing apparel to BAG

The Boxing Association of Grenada (BAG) received delivery of $92,203.85 worth of boxing gear, apparel and accessories from its parent body, the International Boxing Association (IBA).

This was in response to the application for funding assistance submitted by the local association, BAG, and in fulfilment of the promise made by the current AIBA President, Umar Kremlev, during his presidential campaign in the last quarter of 2020.

The boxing gear and apparel, which included boxing gloves, boxing uniforms, punching bags, head guards, belly guards, groin guards, double ends balls, uppercut bags, mouth guards, jumping ropes, punching mitts, etc., were donated free of charge to the Boxing Association of Grenada.

During a press conference on 10 November 2021, President of the Boxing Association of Grenada, Neil Roberts, said the donation was timely as it would not only assist the coaches in delivering high-quality training to the boxers, but it will also enable the association to comply with the relevant Covid-19 protocols as prescribed by the Ministry of Health.

He said prior to the outbreak of Covid-19, there were instances when one boxer could have borrowed the gloves of another boxer to train. But with the new normal, such practices are now a thing of the past as Covid-19 protocols now prohibit such exchange of training gear. He noted that the donation could not have been better timed as they came at a time the association needed them most. Roberts said the gear, apparel and equipment will be distributed to the boxers through the various training gyms and boxing clubs.

Making his remarks at the press briefing, the Treasurer of the Association, Johnson Dion, said the donation was a partial fulfilment of the association’s strategic plan to decentralise the combat sport of boxing from the Town of St George to other parishes. He spoke of the association’s plan to acquire training rings to be stationed in each parish and possibly other strategic locations to harness youths’ sporting interest and enthusiasm towards a productive end.

According to Dion, the discipline and code of conduct that the sport of boxing instils and inculcates in the youths will last them for a lifetime, long after their active boxing years. Of all the sports, boxing is the closest to being a metaphor for life itself; he added that in boxing, you “don’t hit below the belt.” Boxing teaches commitment, perseverance, endurance, determination, imagination and courage. He went further to say that the disciplined sport of boxing has always helped to lure some young boys and girls away from crime-motivating activities, for the benefit of society at large. More than that, boxing has been known for offering a veritable alternative to the youths otherwise involved in deviant behaviour, gang-related activities, violent crimes, and even those serving prison sentences.

He, therefore, enjoined the interested members of the general public to join the association by contacting 407-3466 and their nearest boxing gym. He extended an invitation to the youths and those interested in boxing administration, coach, judge, referee, timekeepers, and ringside doctors and nurses to sign up with the association.

The president expressed the association’s gratitude to IBA, the Ministry of Sport for granting the association 100% concession on the donated items, and to all those who have supported the association over the years.