Olympian Keevin Allicock was removed from Guyana’s team preparing for the American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Elite Continental Championships, set for Guayaquil, Ecuador, March 22-April 2.
Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) president, Steve Ninvalle, made the disclosure when contacted to speak on the preparedness of the team.
National Coach, Lennox Daniels, said the decision, which was handed down by the GBA’s Coaches Committee, stemmed from Allicock’s lack of commitment to training.
“Honestly, if he came (to training) seven days in total in a month, that’s a lot. We can not accept that from any boxer, especially someone like Allicock,” Daniels said.
Daniels said while Allicock has accepted the decision, his non-participation should not be considered as a loss for the team.
“I’m disappointed because I was giving him personal attention to help correct some of his flaws. He’s an exceptional talent, but of coach, some corrections had to be made to his form and technique. He was remorseful after we told him of our decision and he has promised to do better in the future,” Daniels explained.
This is not the first time that Allicock’s commitment is under the microscope. In 2019, the GBA had suspended Allicock from National duties following similar instances of refusal or his inability to report to training.
“Talent must be accompanied by discipline and for anyone to reach their goal, they have to embrace those qualities,” Ninvalle said.
The GBA president, who also sits as a Vice President of the AMBC, reasoned that “there’s a new National Coach, Mr. Lennox Daniels and Mr. Daniels alone did not make that decision; it was made by the Coaches Commission. As a matter of fact, that decision came from most coaches on the Commission.”
“We have put, in the hands of the Coaches Commission, the right to select teams. In the past, it was that the executives were selecting the teams, but we do not do that now. We accept that decision that has been made, and we do hope that all other boxers will understand that you must put your shoulders to the wheel,” Ninvalle said.
Allicock is considered the ‘darling’ of Amateur boxing in Guyana. The 22-year-old is a Commonwealth Youth Games silver medalist and recently, he became the first boxer since John Douglas to represent at the Olympic Games.
However, though Allicock is sitting at the top of the food chain in the English-speaking Caribbean, Ninvalle pointed out that “there are no sacred cows in the GBA and if we do not put in 100% then we can expect to extract 100%.”
According to Ninvalle, “as President of the GBA, I’m personally concerned in the turn of developments. We have to understand that we have given the Coaches Commission the right to do their job and we will have to accept the decision that has been made.”
Ninvalle said he would’ve met with Allicock following the decision to have him suspended from training with the team, and the GBA president noted, “we would’ve had a discussion and I do hope that this will be the last time we would have something like that while he remains in the amateur ranks. We know that he has tremendous talent, but talent alone does not get you to your goal. You need to make sure that talent has a companion in discipline. The other members of the team will go ahead preparing.”
The medallists in each of 13 men and 12 women weight categories, in Ecuador, according to the AMBC, will receive prize money, US$10,000 for first place, $5,000 (second) and $2,500 for third place.
