The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ONE of the fastest rising boxing clubs in the country and headed by one of the most well known names in the sport, the Meacher “Major Pain” Amateur Boxing Club continues its quest to positively impact the lives of inner-city youth.

The organisation captured its third overall winning club trophy last weekend, when it was the top point finisher at the 20th annual Wellington “Sonny Boy” Rahming Silver Gloves Tournament.

“I can’t say how proud I am of these guys. The club has been around for a short period of time but for what they have accomplished so far you can’t say enough about the worry they have put in and it’s gratifying to see it pay off,” Major said. “For some of them they have a real future in the sport and we are here to cultivate that and watch it grow but for a lot of them, if we can get this to serve as a positive influence, a form of discipline then we feel that it’s a positive thing that uplifts the entire community.”

Major hosts his club in the building next to Super Value on Top of the Hill, Mackey Street, free of charge to all interested boys and girls between eight and 17 years of age.

The venue is intended to be a temporary one. Once the Bahamas Government completes the necessary repairs to the National Boxing Gymnasium in the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, Major said he intends to relocate there.

What began last  December with just a few young men from the Kemp Road community has expanded to include a group of promising young fighters and others seeking to use boxing as a tool to enhance their lives.

“A lot of the young men are from broken homes. They are from areas I know, the Kemp Road and Mason’s Addition communities. Some of them, I grew up with their fathers and brothers who are now in jail and they have no real father figure to turn to,” he said. “What they have is a lot of aggression, a lot of anger and boxing is a way to harness that and turn that into something that can one day profit them and their families. I know because the sport has done a great deal for me and it can for them.”

Major, who is currently based in Buffalo, New York, as he gets his professional career back on track, said his focus right now geared toward establishing the club’s foundation, which serves a higher purpose.

“It’s more than just a boxing club,” he said. “We want to assist them in their growth as young men and as citizens of the Bahamas. It is bigger than boxing. We have a tutor and mentorship programme to make sure that we assist them in the classroom because that is even more important than the work they do in the ring. They also do community service as a means of giving back and becoming well-rounded individuals.”

Major said the club would not be able to succeed without a talented group of trainers and coachers, most notably Kaito Ferguson.

Ferguson said the potential is prevalent in the group of young fighters, including nine-year-old Maliko Davis who won the ‘most improved boxer’ at the Silver Gloves tournament.

“Boxing can be a saving grace for a lot of these kids and believe it or not, the talent is there for them to do great things,” he said. “Maybe, not in this Olympic Games but by 2020 we will be able to see the fruits of all this labour. That 8-10 age range has a lot of young talent in there and I feel like one day many of those guys we will be able to look at this as the starting point on that journey right now.”

He reiterated Major’s point that the club has extended its reach beyond the ring. “This club is about boxing, but it is also about tutoring and most of all disciplining,” he said. “I have already seen the change it has made in a lot of their lives in just a few months so if they remain consistent with the programme and we provide the opportunities by training them and allowing them to showcase their skills, who knows you know. The sky is the limit.”

The club is sponsored in large part by Buttons Formal Wear and Sports Solutions.

Major, who turned pro in 2000 after a successful amateur career under the tutelage of Ray Minus Jr, suffered torn ligaments in his leg when he fought to a no contest against Brazilian Roger Rosa in the Rainforest Theatre at the Wyndham Nassau Beach Hotel last December.

As his role as an administrator in the sport grows, Major has become the local representative with the Pan American Caribbean Boxing Organisation (PACBO) in New Jersey.

“This relationship with PACBO boxing in New Jersey is good for boxing in The Bahamas. We intend to take amateurs to the shows in New Jersey and arrange whenever possible for Bahamian professionals to get some action also,” Major said. “With all of the problems going on in our country, I just want to be able to help the youth in our society,” he said. “I just want to continue what I’ve always been doing with the youths in our society. Hopefully by opening this club, I can get some more competitive boxers in the amateur system.”