Young Belizean Boxer Set Eyes on World Title
Amir Rudon
Welcome back to another edition of Sports Monday. I am Paul Lopez. Tonight we will dive right into what we have for you, with our player profile of the week. On Saturday, we spent some time with an ambitious, young boxer from Belize City. He is Amir Rudon. He has an incredible story and he is eager to become the world’s best fighter. Watch out world, twenty-one-year-old professional boxer from Belize City, Amir Rudon has his eyes set on becoming a world champion. He fell in love with the sport at the age of twelve, when he took up boxing as a hobby.
Amir Rudon
Amir Rudon, Professional Boxer
“My goal is to become a world champion one day and show others that having a dream can be fulfilled even if you are from a third world country.”
And to make his dreams a reality, Rudon takes his training seriously.
Amir Rudon
“For my amateur record I was six and zero, and I have turned professional in 2018. I am currently four and zero. I recently had a fight in August against a Mexican from Veracruz and I won against him as well.”
Paul Lopez
“So, you remain undefeated.”
Amir Rudon
“Yes, up until this point I am, and that is the hope to keep on wining and keep on getting better.”
The aspiring world champion’s greatest obstacle has been a lack of sponsorship. Yet and still, his undefeated spirit will not allow him to quit on his dream. Earlier this year, Rudon and his personal trainer and best friend, Koby Mayen, paid out of pocket for tickets to Las Vegas, the world capital of boxing. There the young pro boxer gained experience and knowledge that he otherwise would not receive at home.
Koby Mayen
Koby Mayen, Trainer
“For him as a fighter he was able to see the level of competition and fighters out there and he was able to see the level of, well I was able to see the level of coaches, or assistant coaches and trainers, because that is the level I take up on this side and I was able to take something back from that experience. It was a great experience.”
Amir Rudon
“The benefit of training outside of Belize I would say, the benefit of training outside of the country is the amount of people involved in the sport of boxing in a country. For example, sparing partners, in Belize currently I only have about one or two sparing partners that I spar with on a daily basis. But, internationally there is more variety of boxer’s different style that you could learn from. Definitely I plan to go back to back to Las Vegas and continue to develop and stay for a longer time, to take my boxing game to the next level, to become more recognized, gain more experience fights, and go up in the ranks for a world title, and win the belt.”
Koby Mayen
“I never really saw like athletes; personally I haven’t seen it locally for someone to be so dedicated. I have seen him run on days when it’s raining, get up when he is sick, and still train to the hardest, push his body to the limit and still come back the next day after that.”
Rudon and those in his corner firmly believe that all the dedication and drive invested will earn him a world championship title, not only for himself, but also for his homeland Belize.
Amir Rudon
“I am twenty one years old as of now, but I do see myself becoming a world champion before the age of thirty. I am trying to set that limit.”
Koby Mayen
“There is no doubt in my mind about it. It’s just a matter of time. Sometimes I tell him it’s like it has already happened; it is just for us to experience it.”
The Inter-office Basketball League 2022 season is down to the last four teams. In game one on Friday night, Tuff Enuff went up against the Belize Water Services Limited. The Belize Coast Guard took on Central Health\Customs in game two. Game one’s story was written entirely by the Tuff eNuff boys. Number twenty-two Eyan Rene came out of the gate raging, dropping the first eight points for his team. At the end of the first half, Tuff eNuff kept BWSL at bay, allowing them to score only eight points. Now, BWSL played a much better third, adding nineteen points to their score. A last ditch effort in the fourth was, however, not enough to catch up to Tuff eNuff. Number seven Jamal Kelly stepped up big time for his team tonight. He ended the game with nineteen points, showing off why he is a force to be reckoned with. Here is what Kelly told us after the game.
Jamal Kelly
Jamal Kelly, Tuff eNuff
“Our mindset was defense from the get go. We know deh top scorers and once we keep them pan base, that’s it.”
Paul Lopez
You basically sealed the deal with at least three back to back three pointers. I think that deflated them big time. What was going through your mind after that first three pointer?
Jamal Kelly
“Exactly, once you see the ball guh up and ih start hit, basket get bigger. So, you just have to continue fire as a shooter.”
Paul Lopez
“Now, you have two more matches, potentially, against this team. What are you guys looking to do the next match?”
Jamal Kelly
“Most team when deh the up one-nil they get lazy and nuh really want dah punch. But, right now we hungry and all weh we sih dah just W, W, W, that’s it.”
Tuff eNuff is now leading that best of three series. The Belize Coast Guard is also on top of their best of three series against the Central Health/Customs. Captain Brandon Flowers ended that one with twenty-nine points. He carried his team to a nail-biting sixty-five to sixty-two finish, which now puts them in a good position to win that series. Game two will be played on Friday in two win or go home matchups.
Belize’s U-21 Men’s National Volleyball team is currently in Managua, Nicaragua, for the Nineteenth Under-21 Men’s Central America Volleyball Championship. It’s not been an easy ride for team Belize. They lost their first four matches, to El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Team Belize however, did get to experience sweet victory on Saturday when they went up against Honduras. They were victorious in the first three sets, officially breaking their four game losing streak. The U-21 Men’s Volleyball team has one final match to play tonight against the home team, Nicaragua. Guatemala is currently leading the tournament. Nicaragua is in second place. Costa Rica has the third spot. Belize is currently ranked at sixth place, out of seven teams. A few days ago, Belize’s Coach Albert Humes had this to say about his team’s performance.
Albert Humes
Albert Humes, Coach U-21
“My name is Albert Humes the coach for the Belize U-21 National Team. We are here competing in Nicaragua to continue the success we had in the u-19 program. Right now our expectation, we start up a little bit shaky, but we will pull it out on the end. I think our team will do very well and is well prepared mentally for this tournament here in Nicaragua. We should be doing far well than what we did in the last tournament.”
Keeping it on the international scene, several Belizean cyclists participated in the Caribbean Road Champions 2022, in the Dominican Republic. In the Women’s Road Race, Kaya Cattouse placed seventh, earning her a spot in the Central American and Caribbean Games in June of 2023. Cory Williams placed eight, Derrick Chavarria finished as the twenty-eighth rider, while Giovanni Lovell finished at thirty-eight. We say congratulations to all our riders on the hard-fought race. And, that’s what we have for you tonight. Thank you for taking the time out to join us in what has been this week’s edition of Sports Monday, until next time.
