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Jones wants to push boxing programme in MoBay

Published:Tuesday | May 15, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Stephen 'Bomber' Jones

The plan to establish a national gym at the Montego Bay Cricket Club (MBCC) is still in its infancy but Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) president, Stephen Jones, said he hopes to get the boxing programme off the ground in a few weeks.

"We were fortunate to form a synergy with the Montego Bay Cricket Club, and they have provided us with a space to have a national gym," Jones told The Gleaner.

The gym will not be completed anytime soon, but Jones wants to kick-start the junior boxing programme and develop it along with the physical structure.

"It will take a while before it's completed, but I would love to start (the boxing programme) in six weeks. The important thing is to have a good coach and a good project director and a couple bags. Coach Job Walters is on board already so all we need to do is add to the structure already there. We can start once we have a few bags.

"So we are not going to wait to complete the gym to start the programme. We want to start the programme by summer and have kids in there and have coaches doing things with them and build around (the structure) as we continue to grow," he said.

He believes the gym has a lot of potential for growth and expects it to be one of the local standard-bearers when it's completed.

"In a few years, it will be one of the best, if not the best, national gym we have and the programme by that time will be fully under way.

"We are looking for about 40 kids for Job to work with this summer and we will try our best to facilitate them until we can get the equipment down and then consistently build around it," he said.