US Embassy supports Jamaican boxing

THE US Embassy-sponsored, US-based Humpy Dumpty Institute (HDI) partnered with Fight for Peace and the Jamaica Boxing Association (JBA) last week to noticeable effect.

The three entities successfully put on training sessions in Denham Town, Portmore, and Montego Bay from November 14 and 19.

The HDI brought along a trainer and two accomplished female boxers to demonstrate their skills and assist with the training sessions.

The first two-day session last Tuesday and Wednesday was held at the Denham Town Community Centre and was preceded by a short launch on Tuesday morning where the parties - the US Embassy, the HDI, Fight for Peace and the JBA - spoke about the benefits to be derived from the sessions.

The acting public affairs officer at the US Embassy, Gabriel Hurst said:

“The support that we have towards the programme is a clear example of our steadfast support to Jamaica’s bright future. Our overall training objective is the development of a more safe, strong and secure Jamaica. (I am) really looking forward to seeing the positive impact that it’s gonna have.”

Lennox Blackmore of the HDI decided to bring the programme to Jamaica “because Jamaica has good athletes”.

Blackmore, along with another trainer, Timor Juhasz, and the female boxers Ronica Jeffrey and Jenna Gaglioti started the training with an intense exercise session with a group of aspiring boxers, who are part of the Fight for Peace programme in the island. They were supported by a number of local trainers headed by accomplished local boxer, Sakima Mullings.

Blackmoore, originally from Guyana where he won the Guyanese lightweight title and Guyanese light middleweight title in the 1970s, now operates out of the Geleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York.

Jeffrey was also happy to share her knowledge.

“We are here to teach the boys and the girls defensive work and the skill of boxing. I think that boxing is such a great sport for young people. It directs them in a safe direction to relieve their anger or just to have something that can show them discipline,” she said.

Gaglioti shared similar sentiments.

“Boxing is a sport for your mental health, for your emotional health. It does help the kids stay off the streets, stay disciplined and that’s what we want to teach the kids also,” Gaglioti said.

Rasheed Evans, who recently graduated from Mona High School, welcomed the training.

“I expect to learn a lot.”

He said that he likes the sport and plans to go pro in the future.

“It [boxing] has helped me to become a better person. It has helped me to motive myself better. It has helped me to understand life and how it works,” said Evans.

Fight for Peace’s Mark Cole, who works in a number of inner-city communities while using boxing and martial arts to guide young people to make better life decisions, detailed some of the components of the training.

“We will be doing biographies of some of the great boxers, walking them through some basic boxing techniques as well as we have some advanced boxers do some advanced training. And exposing them to the different boxing styles and what it takes to become a professional boxer.”

He also said that the presence of the two female boxers will help to empower the aspiring female boxers to help them to take the sport seriously.

“We are grateful that this is happening. It’s in line with what we have been pushing in terms of expanding the footprint of the sport,” said Stephen ‘Bomber’ Jones, president of the JBA

This boxing programme is the third to be implemented by HDI. The first one was in the Dominican Republic in 2022 and the second one was with female boxers in the Palestinian territories in February this year. They were all done with the support of the US Embassy.