The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Strikers Boxing Club will be taking a 12-member team on their seventh international trip this year as they compete in the Florida State Championships in Fort Pierce, Florida, this weekend.

And according to head coach Ronn Rodgers, he has been so pleased with the progress the boxers have made that he’s looking for the team to increase their collection of 10 championship belts, three silver and two bronze medals they have achieved so far this year.

“We’ve been training for it, so they are ready,” said Rodgers, who will be taking the team, along with assistant coach Kayla Johnson, to Florida today.

“We didn’t get the sparring that we wanted to get in, but we were able to participate in Ray Minus’ Halloween Fight Night. We had six fights and we won all six by knockout. So the boys are tuned and ready. That was a tune-up for them.

“They are ready to put everything that we trained for into action when they compete this weekend. So I feel good about how they look going into the tournament.”

Immediately following the tournament, Rodgers will be taking the team of boxers to Orlando, Florida, where they will spend a week in a training camp at the Orlando Boxing Academy when they are expected to spar against some of the top boxers in the world.

The team will comprise of the following boxers:

Kendric Stuart, 123 lbs, 20-years-old, Rudolhp Regis, 132 lbs, 20-years-old, Tyrone Oliver, 141 lbs, 21-years-old, JC Collins, 152 lbs, 19-years-old, Hubert Fernander, 165 lbs, 22-years-old, Israel Johnson, 178 lbs, 19-years-old, D’Angelo Swaby, 201 lbs, 26-years-old, twin brothers Davon and Davon Hamilton, 201 lbs, 17-years-old and Amron Sands, 201-plus lbs, 21-years-old.

“We have 10 boxers, but I’m looking for us to get at least six medals,” said Rodgers, who will be introducing Collins to his first international match and Sands to his first trip competing on US soil.

“It’s extremely important for us to take these boys abroad so that they can get used to different styles of fighting.

“These boys have no competition here in the Bahamas and need to travel in order to gain much needed experience so that they can dominate at the Olympic trials in Argentina in March.”

Rodgers said while he has seen a vast improvement in the performances of the boxers, this will be a big test to see where they are as they look ahead to reaching the ultimate goal, which is to qualify for the Olympic Games next year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“That’s what we are shooting for right now. We have about six or seven fighters in different weight classes who we feel can qualify,” Rodgers said.

“The first qualifier is in March in Argentina and the last one will be in June, so we have two opportunities to get these boys qualified.

“We are trying to get at least 5-7 of them qualified, but even if we get 2-3, that will be a huge step in the right direction for us.”

The boxers will have to go through the official weigh-in on Thursday and are expected in action from Thursday to Sunday.