Boxers learn tips in the ring
Boxing has long been popular with the fans, but the sport hasn’t always gotten the technical support the boxers, coaches and judges may need. But a course is currently underway which is attempting to condense a lot of training into two short weeks, in the hopes of improving the sport so many enjoy. Hyacinth Latchman reports.
John Devison, a Canadian who runs a high performance boxing training center in his hometown of Saskatchewan, is presently in Belize conducting a two week boxing training course for coaches and boxers. Devison, who was himself a professional boxer one time, and is now a high performance coach told us what he brings to Belize for the two-week training.
John Devison, Canadian Boxing Trainer
“So I am teaching the level one and level two certification manuals. But I am also going much deeper with them; I am teaching beyond that how to put programs together, how to organize as well as how to learn to coach. I was a professional boxer myself one time but that doesn’t necessarily make you a good coach. You have to be trained to be a good coach.”
Devison says he hopes the skills the trainers and boxers acquire will carry them into the future.
John Devison
“I am hoping that they will learn how to coach. It’s most important if you are going to develop a world class fighter, Olympian, or an international fighter. It’s most important that the basic skills be thought well so that as they progress through their career they can always fall back on the basics and develop upon them and that’s how they become good fighters.”
Peter “Ducho” Thomas, who has been in the profession for forty years, says he is pleased with the participants since the training opened on Monday and he hopes the sport of boxing will go a long way for Belize.
Peter “Ducho” Thomas, Coach
“I can see a lot coming out from this guy. He is very experienced and the participants are much into this program. They have been conducting themselves properly and they have been learning.
Boxing is a sport that has its high peak and sometimes its low peak throughout the world. You know, it’s not something to worry about. You have to build up, keep on building the sport. Belize has produced some very good fighters and they have all come from the amateur ranks.”
Two participants we spoke to found the course very useful and exciting.
Aaron Zuniga, Boxer, B.D.F.
“I accepted this course for two reasons: the first reason being looking at it from the B.D.F. point of view, we hope to have the boxing in the B.D.F. back on track. because it started sometime about ten years ago or more and right now it is diminished. And hopefully after the completion of this course we will be able to get back on track and then train the younger guys from the force to become better boxers because we have a lot of them who have the talent and are able to do so but they just don’t train and don’t have the time.”
Elizabeth Gill, Boxing Judge
“It’s very challenging because I am the youngest. They have another woman but she is a coach, my mom. So it’s very challenging to be among the males.
Actually I am a judge for boxing but in order to be a judge, a good judge you have to know the skills and everything and what to look for. So the course is basically to teach us so we get to take part in activities and everything to learn what we are looking for as a judge.”
Q: “After the course is finished Elizabeth, what do you hope to accomplish?”
Elizabeth Gill
“To be the best judge and if I chose I can always be a coach knowing the skills, what to teach and what to look for to make corrections for the mistakes that I made.”
Hyacinth Latchman for News Five.
The boxing workshop is being held at the Belize City Center.
