By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
WITH the return of professional boxing with the first all-female show taking place next weekend, promoter Michelle Minus made a special pitch for support from the Southeast Nassau Rotary Club.
Minus, along with her publicist Serena Williams, was a special guest at the club’s weekly meeting on Wednesday at the Nassau Yacht Club.
During her address to the audience, Minus took the time to bring some awareness of ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which struck her former husband Ray Minus Jr, whom she partnered with in the formation of First Class Promotions, the boxing club that is hosting the show on Friday, March 31 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
“Persons, who suffer this disease, have a life expectancy of two to five years, but there are persons who have lived beyond that,” she said. “There’s no awareness here in the Bahamas for ALS and so we are doing whatever we can to assist him.”
She noted that since he contracted the disease in 2020, they have been assisting him with his daily operation and they have received some support from his friends from the international community, who are expected to come down for the show.
Minus Jr, 59, also founded the Champion Amateur Boxing Club and was the country’s most decorated pro boxer during a career that started in 1982 and ended in 2001 with an impressive 37-9-1 win-loss-draw record with 27 knockouts.
He held the British Commonwealth title six times, was named the Commonwealth Boxer of the Year in 1989, was a two-time WBC Continental of America’s champion, four-time Bahamas bantamweight champion, three-time featherweight champion, four-time lightweight champion and the first Bahamian to fight for three world titles in the WBC, WBA and WBO.
In her address, Minus said they will roll out the red carpet as they honour Minus.
The show will be highlighted by the WBA’s world title fight between Jamie ‘The Miracle’ Mitchell of Las Vegas and Lindsay Garbatt of Toronto, Canada.
“This is just the beginning of our return to promoting professional boxing,” Minus said. “We are excited to be putting on this all-female card, which is the first time that it is being done in the Bahamas and in the Caribbean.
“When we do our second show in October, we hope to highlight a British Commonwealth title fight. So we want to encourage the public to come out and support these females on the card and to also make a contribution to Ray Minus Jr.”
She noted that the majority of the amateur and professional boxers, whom Minus Jr had a chance to train, will be on hand to support him. Among the list are Jermaine ‘Choo Choo’ Mackey, Meacher ‘Major Pain” Major and Quincy ‘Thrill-A-Minute’ Pratt, Minus Jr’s arch-rival in three epic pro fights in the country.
VIP tickets are priced at $125 and general mission is $35 and available at www. bahamasetickets,com.
For further information, persons can call 242-465-2313 or email firstclasspromotions@gmail. com or Serena Williams at 242-557-or serena@serenawilliams-pr.com
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