The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FORMER top notch amateur boxers Valentine Knowles and Keishno Major are collaborating their efforts as coaches in the newly formed Aftershock Boxing Club to help bring the sport back on the local scene.

The club will host their first show dubbed “the Heroes versus the Villains” on Saturday, October 30, at the National Boxing Gymnasium in the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex, starting at 6pm.

Knowles said the show will provide the public to view some of the top senior boxers like Lennox Boyce and a number of up and coming boxers who will be appearing on the card.

“We have invited all of the boxing clubs to come out and participate,” said Knowles, who noted that they have received confirmation from Southside Marlins, Bangers Boxers Club and Meacher ‘Major Pain’ Boxing Club.

“We are trying to bring boxing back. We had boxing on the international circuit, but we were not getting any recognition locally,” Knowles said. “So we’re trying to bring boxing back in our backyard.”

At least ten bouts are expected to be showcased on the card sponsored by Y-Cares Fashion and Howard Nelson ‘Chippie Chipman.’ Entry fee is $5 for children 12 years and under, $15 for general admission and $25 for platinum.

“We have a lot of novice starters, who are just beginning to box, who will be competing,” Knowles said. “We had a number of boxers who were in the programme over the summer and they put in a lot of work.

“But after the summer, a lot of them just dropped by the wayside because they didn’t have any transportation. That was why I went into my community and I was able to get a lot of boxers from there.”

Coming out of the Kemp Road Community, Knowles said he’s been able to attract a number of delinquent young men to provide them with some wholesome activity to get involved in.

He noted that he was able to use his public service transportation to pick up and drop back off a number of youngsters out of Kemp Road to enable them to get the opportunity that he was presented with a number of years ago.

Knowles, who was introduced to boxing by coach Ray Minus Jr at his Champion Amateur Boxing Club, represented the Bahamas at the Carifta Games and the Junior Olympic Games.

After moving to Havana, Cuba, to train for two years, Knowles went on to win a silver medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India. That same year, he made history asd the first Bahamian to win gold at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico.

Shortly attempting to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games, Knowles turned pro. But two years later, he was assaulted and shot five times.

“The injuries sustained during my life-threatening ordeal would be a game-changer for my future as those injuries prevented me from continuing my career as a professional athlete,” Knowles said.

“During my despair, I realised my true purpose: to give back to the youth of my community by mentoring, training, and teaching them the art of boxing. In 2015 I founded the Aftershock Boxing Club.”

The club is currently the home to 25 students, both male and female. The mission of the club is to transform the sport in The Bahamas once again.

“We hope to teach skill and discipline and detour our youth from negative influences by renewing a pure mind, body, and soul,” Knowles said.

“The Aftershock Boxing Club is dedicated to preparing youth for the future of amateur boxing in the Bahamas, and we look forward to grooming and nurturing great athletes.”

Also joining Knowles as a coach is Major, another outstanding amateurf boxer, who started boxing at the age of 15 under the tutelage of Minus Jr.

Major went on to represent The Bahamas in competitions in a number of regional competitions in Jamaica, Martinique, Guyana, and St. Lucia. He captured a medal at the Jr Olympics and the Bahamas Games, one of the major events held in the country.

One of the highlights of my career was defeating Armond Sands in a box-off that led to me meeting the Olympic qualifications in both Argentina and Azerbaijan.

“The passion I have for the sport allows me to give back to my community by teaching the inner-city youth the art and technique of the sport,” Major said.

“It is a reward to mentor kids who may not have many positive role models in their lives. Being a role model for impressionable minds is not only a privilege but a responsibility to make good choices in life.”

Both coaches Knowles and Major indicated that the Aftershock Boxing Club will provide young people in the country with the training and discipline needed to become professional athletes and the tenacity to excel in any area they may pursue.

Once this show is finished, Knowles said they’re looking at teaming up with Carl Hield, who is training in Florida, to bring in a number of amateur boxers probably in December to put on a Bahamas vs the United States Amateur boxing show at the National Boxing Gymnasium.