The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

A PAIR of local boxing clubs sought to expand their reach to the Family Islands and to also give their student athletes greater exposure.

Major Pain Boxing Club, in conjunction with Champion Boxing Club, recently hosted the “Exuma on the Basketball Court” event – a series of boxing exhibitions in Georgetown, Exuma.

The event, sponsored by Ishmon Smith, took place over the Independence Holiday weekend featuring boxers from both clubs in a series of exhibition matches and tutorials.

Meacher Major, director of the Major Pain Boxing Club , said the trip was the first of many in the outreach programme of the club.

“The purpose of the trip was to introduce boxing to the youth of Exuma and the response from the community was great. The kids were very excited. We had five exhibition matches and three grudge matches from the Exumians. Now they are very interested in a boxing programme being down there. We want to give our youth the exposure, many of whom never left the island of Nassau before,”  he said.

“Major Pain Boxing Club plans to help build boxing within the entire Bahamas and Exuma is the first that we travelled to as a team.  Martin Rolle, a former boxer based in Exuma, is very interested in starting a boxing club on the island. The experience was a blessing for our club.”

The groups participate in several shows throughout the year but now that yearly effort will include the trips to the Family Islands.

“The natives were very pleasant and we plan to make these trips to different islands annually,” Major said. “I want to thank God for giving us this opportunity to give back and a special thanks to Dorothy Dorgaville, John Marshall, Guest House, Peace and Plenty and Beauty Paint Box. Hospitality was a plus at both hotels. On making this trip a complete success we extend a special thanks to Kato Ferguson, the head coach of Major Pain Boxing Club, assistant Nevin Kurt Lobo and also Champion Boxing Club Director Ray Minus.”

Dorgaville said she sought out to build a relationship with the club because of the impact Major has made on his local community in Kemp Road.

“I know there is a lot of potential on the island of Exuma and we don’t get as much exposure as we should. I felt like this would be a great opportunity for kids here on the island to get a grasp of something different than what they are used to like basketball, softball and football and the regular summer programmes, she said. “With Meacher coming down and being a positive mentor and role model and instilling the same impact on these kids of Exuma, I feel like it would be a great opportunity for them to get into this sport rather than possible idle activities they could get into.”

According to Major, what began in  December 2014 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.

“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.”