International professional boxing will return to Jamaica on a pro-am seven-fight card slated for the Barbican Beach Sports Complex in St Andrew on Saturday, November 5.

The event, promoted by Creative Sports and Entertainment and I Fight Promotions in collaboration with the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC), is organised to continue the drive towards the wholesome development of boxing in Jamaica.

In addition to the two professional fights on the card, Jamaica and Cayman will be engaged in a country-to-country boxing extravaganza to aid each other’s development process in their amateur and novice ranks.

Leroy Brown, general secretary of the JBBC, in making the announcement at Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records in Kingston on Wednesday, said: “This is a launch that is not only on November 5, but a launch that is going to mean that boxing is coming back in a big way to Jamaica.”

Making his contribution to the launch, JBBC president Stephen Jones outlined why the fight card is so important to local boxing’s development.

“In our boxing development task I do believe that we are getting there. We have a vibrant amateur programme going and it is being strengthened by the fact that we are gaining a stronger foothold in many of our communities where discipline is channelled from the grassroots level upward.

“Jamaica Boxing Board is at present engaged with a network of partners working with Fight For Peace to deliver a programme of sports and personal development in volatile communities. At present, the focus is on Denham Town, Fletcher’s Land, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens, Parade Gardens and Hannah Town,” said Jones.

The JBBC boss believes the efforts of growing the sport with the current programmes are already bearing fruit.

“The idea is to cement what we are doing and replicate it in places throughout the other communities islandwide. At the moment what we are seeing on a daily basis is that the idea is working very well as we are seeing very talented youngsters making meaningful strides: one of whom (Keron Thomas) will make her novice debut at next week’s tournament against a fellow teenager from Cayman,” Jones shared.

Meanwhile, on next week’s fight card, Sakima Mullings, a past winner of the Wray & Nephew Contender Series welterweight boxing title, will fight against American welterweight gloveman Courtney McCain in the main bout over eight rounds, while the two fighters to meet on the undercard are still to be finalised.

Meanwhile, fighters for the five-card event between leading amateurs and novices from Jamaica and Cayman, going three three-minute rounds, including one female bout, have been decided on.

Jamaica’s two leading amateur fighters Daniel Hylton will take on Alexander Smith in a light welterweight clash, while Ricardo Carter will go up against Eduardo Montalvo in a lightweight bout.

In the novice ranks, Ian Darby will go up against Darie Ebanks in a light heavyweight bout, Ricardo Beckford will fight Dan Hewitt in another light heavyweight encounter, while Keron Thomas will challenge her Cayman counterpart Chambria Dalhouse in the lone female match-up.

— Hurbun Williams