Time to rumble - Boxing fraternity plans for return to action in September
Published:Thursday | July 23, 2020 | 12:29 AMRachid Parchment/Assistant Sports Editor
Jamaica Boxing Board president Stephen Jones says that plans are being made for boxing in September. Jones, who was previously sceptical about when to make fighters active again, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said that the change of thinking is because of how the Government has handled the outbreak so far.
“We’ve been having a fantastic recovery rate where COVID-19 is concerned,” he said. “The powers that be have done a tremendous job, along with our citizens in adhering to the steps to keep it at bay. So we will see what the next two months look like, and once this trend continues, we would love to resume live boxing in September.
“On the professional level, our local promoters have been having several conversations with various promoters overseas with the hope to stage bouts here in Jamaica.”
Paul Patmore is a local promoter who is eager to resume action and welcomes Jones’ idea.
“September would be a good time,” he said. “We’re looking forward to a start now. Most of the boxers are in training. They have to keep training, and they’re dying to get a resumption.”
Boxer Janathan ‘Mufasa’ Hanson wants to be back in the ring as soon as possible because he wants to prepare for Olympic Qualifiers ahead of the Tokyo Games next year. He loves the plan to resume boxing in September.
“Really and truly, I’m hoping for the best for September,” he said. “With the calendar proposed by AIBA (the world governing body), Olympic Qualifying is supposed to be ‘Novemberish’, so we need to get our Nationals out of the way by then, so the earlier, the better.”
But Hanson says he needs to put in hard work in the gym.
CONSTANT TRAINING
“I’m not there yet, but I’ve been constantly training,” he said. “I’ve been working on skills, skills, skills. I’m looking to put on a show the next time I step into the ring.
Patmore says that the pandemic will pose challenges to planning events but that he and other promoters would have to work through them as he believes that the virus will be around for much longer.
“COVID’s gonna be around for the next three to four years, so we have to put things in place,” he said. “It don’t make sense to sit around waiting for things to come back to normal because they won’t for maybe another four years.”
While admitting that planning events during a pandemic may be more expensive, Patmore has a plan to make up for revenue lost through ticket sales.
“We’re gonna do a lot of online viewing,” he said. “Pay-per-view is one of the things we’re gonna concentrate on as promoters going forward. It will be the new norm, and September would be a good time to start.”
Jones says that conversations are now being held with the Ministry of Sport regarding how best boxing’s stakeholders can move forward in all areas in as safe an environment as possible.