Contender Series caught JBBC off guard... But local body looks to capitalise on public response with more fights soon

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

President of the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC), William Tavares-Finson, admits that his organisation was, to some extent, taken off guard by the immediate success of the J. Wray & Nephew Contender Series, but were pleasantly surprised by the public's response.

"I know Jamaicans love boxing, we are a boxing public and I knew anybody that attended would have enjoyed it, but the level of support, though, was not anticipated to such an extent on our path," Tavares-Finson told The Gleaner.

"My first vice-president Steven 'Bomber' Jones said it was going to be a phenomenal success. I was a bit more cautiously optimistic. I thought it would have done well, but I did not anticipate this level of interest."

enthusiastic audience

The series came to a close at a packed Constant Spring football field last Wednesday, as an enthusiastic crowd watched Rikardo Smith being crowned the island's new middleweight champion, after scoring a technical knockout over Devon Moncrieffe.

With the series now concluded until next season, the JBBC faces the task of keeping the boxers active and in shape.

According to the president, the body does not intend to let the momentum slip, and intends to have the fighters in action again in at least four to six weeks.

Already looking ahead to next season, Tavares-Finson is expecting that the new series, which will focus on a different weight class, will be even better, as the fighters will have a lot more time to prepare.

"This being the first year, it was a learning curve for us, it caught a lot of the boxers a bit off guard. Some guys were too light, we had to get them up, some guys had to be brought down, so middle was very convenient on short notice," he pointed out.

more time to train

"We have a year now, so they can get themselves together, we will decide as soon as possible what weight division we are going for, so people can train," he said.

As for Smith, Jamaica's new middleweight champion, with the Commonwealth Boxing Council (CBC) having officially recognised the series, he is expected to get a shot at a zonal title sometime in the future.

The CBC, who, unlike the WBC and WBA, don't generally rank their list of contenders, recently came up with the idea of zonal Commonwealth championships.

The change will ensure that each of the Commonwealth regions will have a boxing champion, which should allow the fighters easier access to the challenger ladder.

Miguel 'Hands of Stone' Antoine of Barbados defeated Guyanese, Mark Austin, to be appointed the first-ever super lightweight Commonwealth champion of the zone.