Wray and Nephew in association with the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control has embarked on a bold step to improve and support the boxing culture in the inner city communities and in parishes.

To show intent, the associates will begin the process by hosting the first in a series of community boxing events with a pro am international friendly six-bout card of four amateur bouts and two professional bouts at the Barbican Beach, Barbican, today starting at 7:00 pm.

Jamaica amateurs are in the process of fine-tuning preparation for the World Championship Box-off in Honduras next month and which Caribbean boxing nation is better suited than Panama to assist Jamaica with its planned development.

Panama is one of the leading countries in amateur boxing and to assist Jamaica with its planned preparation both countries will play international friendlies against each other on a home and away basis.

On tonight’s amateur card four Jamaican prospects for the World Championships Box-Off will tackle four accomplished Panamanian boxers in the lightweight (two fights), middleweight and super heavyweight categories. Sanjay Williams of Jamaica will take on Lionel Gutterrez in one lightweight bout, while Marvin Shea will come up against Johnathan Miniel in the other lightweight clash of the evening.

Janathan Hanson will then take on Panamanian Luis Hernandez in the middleweight class, while the big clash of the evening will see Ricardo Brown of Jamaica fisting it out against Ronaldo Bermudez in what is anticipated to be the most punishing amateur contest for the evening in the super heavyweight.

Added to this, two professional fights involving Jamaican boxers will complete the evening’s programme with Fabian Tucker facing Neco Yeyo in one middleweight contest, and the promising Kesta Davis facing off against the veteran puncher Anthony Osbourne in the evening’s feature bout.

In amateur heavyweight action both Brown and Bermudez are gunning for a victory. “That is my main purpose of being here,” Bermudez told the Jamaica Observer through his interpreter Enrique Victoria, First Councellor at the Panamanian Embassy in Jamaica on Thursday on arrival at the Norman Manley Airport.

Brown was no less confident: “I am going in there to win. But win or lose I am going to enjoin myself. I have been preparing well and the public should expect a good showing from me.”

National amateur team coach Gilbert Vaz told the Observer yesterday that: “While Panama is ahead of Jamaica in its amateur development we in Jamaica have been making steady progress and with the main objective in amateur boxing is to hit and avoid being hit, I think we will give a very good account of ourselves in our home and away encounters.”

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/jamaica-face-panama-in-6-bout_100114?profile=1498

Fans will be treated to some exciting boxing action tonight at the Barbican Beach Complex on East King’s House Road.

Jamaica and Panama will first clash in four amateur bouts before four local professional boxers will trade punches. The card is being promoted by Creative Sports and United Boxing Promotions, in association with the Jamaica Boxing Board and the action starts at

8:00 p.m.

The six-fight card promises to produce a lot of action, and the amateur content is a part of the thrust of the boxing board to keep Jamaica’s young boxers active and in shape for overseas competition later this year. The amateur section of the programme will see Jamaican lightweights Marvin Shea from theJamaica Defence Force and Sanjay Williams from Bruising gym going up against Panama’s Jhonathan Miniel and Leonel Guttierrez respectively.

In the other two bouts, Jamaican middleweight Janathan Hanson from Stanley Couch gym, will go against Luis Hernandez and super heavyweight Ricardo Brownfrom G. C. Foster gym, will take on Panamanian Ronaldo Bermudez. When the Panamanians arrived in Jamaica on Thursday, they predicted that they would winall their bouts, and their trainer even stated that their superior boxing technique would take them home safely against their Jamaican counterparts.

In the professional section of the card, middleweight Kestna Davis, who is seen as a bright prospect for the future, will get an opportunity to use his boxing skillsagainst wily veteran Anthony Osbourne, in a bout scheduled for five rounds. This is a case of youth versus experience, and while Davis predicted yesterday that heexpected to win, Osbourne hinted that his years of experience would definitely give him the edge over his young opponent.

The second bout, which will also be over five rounds, will see two newcomers to the pro ranks seeking a first victory. Welterweights Nico Yeyo and Fabian Tuckerboth have one fight as a professional and lost. This should be a close contest, and a lot is at stake, because neither boxer wants to start his career with two losses.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170527/ja-panama-amateurs-clash-pro-am-card

Contact-Rachel Damarr Williams

718-444-4656

radarr26@hotmail.com

 

       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 New York- May 26, 2017

Award winning musical icon Lloyd Lovindeer headlines the list of performers slated to appear at the 2017 Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival to be held on Saturday June 3 beginning at 12 noon.

The third annual edition of the outdoor festival will take place on 160th Street between Jamaica and 90th Avenues in Jamaica, Queens.

The list of entertainers just released by the festival also includes singers Andrew Clarke , Nadiva Deveraux and Carl ‘Rameses’ McDonald , the Braata Folk Singers,  gospel artist Kukudoo,  the drama ensemble Flat Tire Productions and The D’Oro Dance Ensemble.

The artists will all be part of the festival’s Grand Cultural Concert, which is the high point of the annual event and begins at 4pm.

The Jamaican born ‘Lovindeer’ as he is affectionately known, is one of the most popular and enduring Caribbean entertainers of his generation. In a career spanning over forty years, he has thrilled audiences worldwide with an array of hits, often characterized by uniquely witty lyrics and double entendre lines. His biggest hit to date – the hilarious Wild Gilbert, produced in the aftermath of 1988’s Hurricane Gilbert which swept across Jamaica-  remains  one of the island’s top selling singles of all time.

He will be joined by an eclectic group of established and emerging artists, including Andrew Clarke – fresh from an acclaimed performance in the world premiere of the popular new musical- Welcome To America, and gospel artist Kukudoo, who has been a major force in Caribbean gospel music for over thirty years.

Much is also expected from the popular dramatic ensemble Flat Tire Productions- a group of  Indo Caribbean artists whose credits include several feature films , tv shows and stage plays- as well as the D’Oro Dance Ensemble , a Jamaican based dance company specializing in traditional African Folk dance forms.

And making his Bankra Festival debut will be vocalist Carl ‘Rameses’ McDonald, backed by the renowned True Tribute  Organization, who have been among the most unique cultural ambassadors of the reggae music form for many years.

This year’s event will again feature a food pavilion with cuisine from various islands, face painting and clown activities for children, cultural exhibits, and participatory folk games and dances for patrons.

The Bankra Caribbean Folk Festival derives its name from a large woven   basket- called a ‘bankra’ – which is usually used to carry an array of food and cultural items in Jamaica. According to festival organizers, the festival is best described as “A huge basket of culture and folk traditions that we are sharing annually with our growing audience. And they are responding in large and very encouraging numbers.”

The event is also supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the city Council and Council Member I. Daneek Miller.

The festival is free and open to the public and runs from 12 noon till 7pm.

See also-www.braataproductions .org

 

 

Ramel ‘Sub Zero’ Lewis was a very unhappy man on Wednesday night when his chief second, Joshua Van Reil, threw in the towel and ended his fight with Canadian Ryan Young at 24 seconds of round three in their Wray and Nephew Contender battle at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium.

This was the last of the preliminary bouts in the series, with the winner moving on to the quarter-finals.

After they had split two bruising rounds, Lewis was caught with a solid left hook to the head by Young and went down. Referee Peter Richards administered the mandatory eight count, and Lewis indicated to him that he was ready to continue. It was then brought to the attention of the referee, that Joshua had thrown in the towel, literally behind his back, and he, therefore, signalled that the fight was over, by way of retirement of the boxer.

READY TO CONTINUE

Lewis was furious and said that although he had gone down, he was not hurt and was ready to continue. He, therefore, disagreed vehemently with his corner’s decision.

In defence of his action, however, Joshua said that he had stopped the fight for the safety of the boxer.

“Young is much bigger that Ramel, and I was worried about the bad cut that he had. I thought it best to not let him continue,” he added.

Lewis was cut over the left eye from the first round, and blood flowed from it. It was handled well by his corner, but it proved to be more than a nuisance as he battled with the wily Canadian. He won the first round but lost the second, which was action-packed. Both men hit each other with very hard punches in this round and were hurt, but resilience paid off, and both men made it to the third stanza.

LIGHTNING RIGHT HOOK

Young unleashed a lightning right hook shortly after the round started and the end came quickly. Contacted after the fight, ringside doctor AndrÈ McDonald said that he thought that the decision of the corner to stop the fight was a good one.

“Lewis could have continued after the knock-down, but the cut was deep and it would have come into the equation soon. The safety of the boxer was the main concern of the corner and that is a good thing, ” he added.

By virtue of this victory, Young has now moved into the quarter-finals, which start next week, with Sakima Mullings, Richard Holmes, Dave Leblond, Larone Whyte, Francesco Catroni, Phil Rose and Tsetsi Davis. Mullings and Whyte will meet next week.

In two amateur bouts on Wednesday, Kevonne Willis from the Jamaica Defence Force defeated Joel Wedderburn from the St Thomas Boxing Club, and Chevaun Mendez from Dream Sports gym outpointed Collel Hogg from Stanley Couch Gym.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170526/young-takes-out-sub-zero-lewis

Ryan Young smashed Ramel Lewis’ face into bloodied submission to give Team Canada a 5-3 lead on Team Jamaica going into the second stage of the Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium in Kingston on Wednesday night.Young floored Lewis with an explosive right hook to the face at the opening 24 seconds of the third round to win the fight by submission after his handlers threw in the towel while the boxer was down on his hunches being counted out by referee Peter Richards.

Seemingly not affected by the knockdown, Lewis stood up ready to continue, but the damning act of submission had been carried out. His handlers, in their wisdom, ended what they believed to be a carnage with so much blood present by tossing in the towel of submission. Lewis’ night in the ring was finished by the rescue attempt.

Young, who stands a good seven inches taller over Lewis and also possesses a longer reach, used his dimensional advantage to open a deep cut on the brow of the right eye of the shorter Lewis with a chopping straight right in the first round. It was a severe cut.

For much as ringside doctor Aundre McDonald tried to check the flow of blood from the wound, it continued profusely with the blood streaming down the face of Lewis onto his shorts.

Despite the gushing blood, Lewis never looked in any trouble and he continued to battle on in his bloody state and gave as much as he received with some big shots against Young in the second round.

But with his concentration marred by the early cut and in his haste to end the contest early with stopping his opponent uppermost in his approach, the Westmoreland native committed the cardinal sin by dropping his guard.

Seconds into the third round he perished by getting nailed by a haymaker from the gangling Canadian KO specialist, Young, who increased his win record to 11 with nine knockouts against two losses. Lewis has dropped to eight wins and six losses.

“It was a good victory for me. It was the first time I was taking part in the tournament and am satisfied with the result. I noticed he (Lewis)was keeping his guard a little down and I opened the cut over his left eye in the first round after which I continued to exploit,” Young said.

Meanwhile, Lewis was left bemused by his handlers’ move by throwing in the towel.

“After I got knocked down I stood up as firm as a rock and felt that I could continue as my head was clear. I did not stagger away. So I cannot understand why they chose to throw in the towel.

“The coach is saying that in the two previous rounds the guy was all over me and the knock-down was the catalyst to call the fight. But even while the blood was streaming down I was not unduly bothered by it,” said the Jamaican.

Source: http://m.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/young-claims-victory-over-bloodied-lewis-as-team-canada-surges-in-contender-series_99934?profile=1498

For Immediate Release

Ellerslie Pen, St Catherine – May 24, 2017: Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica has noted the comments made in today’s sitting of Parliament’s Infrastructure and Physical Development Committee regarding the increase in the cost per unit to build a house under the Government’s Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme.

The following is a statement from the organisation:

“We are deeply concerned regarding a comment by Mr. Leslie Campbell, MP for Northeast St. Catherine, who stated that ‘there is absolutely no justification’ for the cost of building the unit. We would like to remind the relevant authorities that the sole interest of FFP is to build houses and otherwise engage in activities for the benefit of Jamaica’s less fortunate.

“Indeed, it is for this reason that FFP agreed to be a 50 per cent funder in partnership with the Government to alleviate the poor living conditions of vulnerable Jamaicans and in the process, FFP further agreed to share its efficient construction processes with the Government at no cost. We do hope that the media reports are not indicative of an official stance in the matter, as FFP has received no notice from the Government.

“With regard to a comment about termites, we have received no complaint of this nature, having constructed 4,130 housing units under this project. In fact, upon completion of construction by FFP, the Government is required to certify that the house is completed. The contract states that The Housing Agency of Jamaica Limited (HAJL) is the ‘implementing agency’ and provides ‘infrastructure works’ as well as ‘management and supervisory services to the Government …for the construct of the wooden houses under this Agreement’

“For MP Mikhail Phillips to state that the loft of our two-bedroom unit is cold, provides clear evidence that some MPs are unaware that FFP has built units where recipients had no roof to protect them from rain. Which is colder?

“We resolve with or without the Government of Jamaica of either party to continue unimpeded in our mission of independently building houses and serving our indigent Jamaican sisters and brothers.”

-end-

CHAIRMAN of Food For the Poor (FFP) Andrew Mahfood has defended the quality of the houses the charity organisation is providing to destitute Jamaicans under its five-year joint agreement with the Jamaican Government.

“The house is a 320-square foot two-bedroom home, with a bathroom, a kitchen, a water tank, a septic tank, solar lighting, and all of that is free. It’s a blessing for somebody to receive a home for free, with what I just described. Yes, there may be some imperfections, but it’s something that we take pride in, delivering a quality home to a recipient who pays nothing. To get a home for $900,000 as a gift; I don’t even see how quality can be an issue in the discussion. We are talking about bathroom, shower, for people who have never had that in their lives,” Mahfood told the Jamaica Observer yesterday, while stressing that FFP hopes to continue the partnership with the Government when the current agreement ends in August this year.

Mahfood was responding to yesterday’s discussions at the Infrastructure and Physical Development Committee of Parliament where some MPs were critical of the quality of the wooden houses being built under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), which has now been replaced by the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme.

The MPs stressed that they were not seeking to discredit FFP, but said they were concerned about value for money, especially in light of an anticipated US$800 increase which the organisation is requesting. This would move the cost per unit from US$6,800 to US$7,200, half of which is borne by the Government.

“I can build any one of those units in my constituency for half the price of what is quoted. My preference would be for those allocations to be given directly to the MP who can use local labour to achieve better results. There has to be some exorbitant architectural fees built into that figure…as far as I know these units are standard units, I really don’t understand it,” St Catherine North East MP Leslie Campbell argued.

St Thomas Western MP Dr Fenton Ferguson commented that “Food for the Poor is a good partner (but) the fact that it is a good partner can’t take away our responsibility as parliamentarians to question whether we are getting value for money”.

The MPs said, too, that they were being left out of the process and suggested that the community could be “roped” into the construction process.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/food-for-the-poor-defends-quality-of-houses_99872?profile=1373

The eighth fight in the Wray & Nephew Contender Series is set for tonight at the auditorium Chinese Benevolent Association with Team Jamaica’s Ramel Lewis (left) battling Team Canada’s Ryan Young.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/contender-boxing-clash_99769?profile=1511

Jamaica’s Ramel ‘Sub Zero’ Lewis, will try to earn himself a place in the Wray and Nephew Contender quarter-finals tonight, when he clashes with dangerous Canadian Ryan Young in the eighth and final preliminary bout of the series. The action starts at 8.30 p.m. at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium with two amateur bouts. The main bout, which will be broadcast live by Television Jamaica, will go on at 9.30 p.m.

This encounter promises to be an explosive one -as both men are aggressive and have good knockout records. Young, who is from Ontario, Canada, is a seasoned campaigner, and said yesterday that he has “put in a lot of work for this fight, and my plan is to go all the way.” He has a record of 10 wins and two losses, and eight of his victories have been by knockout or technical knockout.

His two losses came in his last two fights. In November 2016, he lost by technical knockout in Round One, to Phil Rose, who is already in the quarter-finals, following his victory over Jamaican contender Ricardo Planter, and last month, he failed to win the Canada Super Welterweight title when he lost to Kevin Higson by unanimous decision.

Setbacks

Despite these recent setbacks, he is very confident of victory and volunteered that he can “win either at long range or inside”.

Lewis told The Gleaner yesterday, that he has ‘worked hard for the past two months, and my condition is good’.

He has, however, not fought since May 4 last year, when he lost in the Contender competition to Michael Gardener. At 5′ 5″ he will concede a height and reach advantage to Young, who is a six-footer. The indications are that with this advantage, Young will keep at long range and use his boxing skills, and Lewis will therefore have to find ways of getting inside to work the body.

It is a very intriguing match-up, and tactics and punching power will definitely come into play in deciding the winner. Lewis has a 7-5 record with four knockouts, and has shown in the past that he can take out an opponent when the opportunity presents itself. He will, however, have to cope with the boxing skills of Young, and that will make the plot even more interesting.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170524/sub-zero-lewis-faces-tough-test