The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

CHAMPION Amateur Boxing Club will be back in the ring this weekend with a marquee main event to highlight the card.

The 22nd Wellington “Sonny Boy” Rahming Silver Gloves tournament is all set for Saturday, May 20 at the CABC Boxing Centre, Wulff Road.

The main event is expected to feature two of the top amateur fighters in the country in a welterweight bout - Rashield Williams versus Lennox Boyce.

Williams most recently took gold in the 2016 edition of the Caribbean Development Boxing Tournament hosted in Bridgetown, Barbados last December. He also was the only member of Team Bahamas to advance to the 2nd round at the final 2016 Olympics qualifying event in Baku, Azerbaijan last June.

Boyce is the two-time reigning CABC Boxer of the Year and has dominated the slate of local fighters he has faced.

Doors open at 7pm with an admission fee of $7 for adults and $5 for children.

“This event is looking very spectacular and very promising. Most of the national team boxers will be coming to compete and exhibit their skills. They will work along with these up-and-coming boxers so it is good for them to come together as a unit to uplift the up-and-comers,” said Ray Minus Jr, CABC director.

“Lennox Boyce is one of those up-and-comers and he will be representing the Bahamas at the up-and-coming Commonwealth Youth Games. On the other side, I think Rashield is the top amateur boxer representing our country. This is a big fight on a big night. This kind of action is what people are looking for and it helps both fighters boost their abilities. We want to put those two guys in the ring and just allow them to work together in trying to make both of them better boxers.”

Minus said the main event and number of national team members competing on the night will foreshadow the group expected to vie for 2020 Olympic qualification.

“We will look at this main event as perhaps the 2020 Olympic boxers frontrunners. There will be a number of up-and-coming boxers looking to feel out what the national team boxers are like in the ring. The whole idea is for the more experienced talented national team members to get good sparring and to also bring the younger guys along.

“It will be a great night of fun, we want the public to come out and see the talent we have in boxing and recognise the spirit we still have in this sport. As we go along we will uplift, motivate and train these boxers better,” Minus said. “We are very pleased with the history of the Sonny Boy Silver Gloves. Over two decades promoting this event at a high level is amazing. We have been very consistent with that and we are able to host the best and the finest boxers in the country.”

Event sponsors include D’Albenas Agency, Bahamas Vision Centre, Commonwealth Bank, Ron’s Electric, Wallace Whitfield and Co. “I want to thank all of our sponsors for making it possible and helping CABC get back on track hosting events. Boxing is in great need of consistency and development and I just want to thank them for recognising that.

‘Sonny Boy’ Rahming was a very well-known local fighter during the “golden years” of professional boxing. In the ring, he squared off with the likes of Yama Bahama, Gomeo Brennan and Boston Blackie. Following a career in the ring, he turned to training and mentoring generations of young boxers on the local scene and helped to hone the skills of some of the country’s best fighters.

Minus said Rahming was a special case because of the attention and focus he gave to underprivileged young men from around the local community.

“In the last tournament, it was so exciting that we had many matches in that tournament and that was a great amount of matches for a local show,” Minus said.