Professional boxers Shawn “Terry” Cox, and Miguel “Hands of Stone”’ Antoine have retired from boxing with immediate effect.
And according to Sam Layne, their manager and local boxing promoter – who seems set to also hang up his administrative gloves – the lack of support behind the sport has been the decisive factor.
In a telephone interview with SATURDAY SUN SPORT, Layne said the fighters had made their decisions based on the fact that their efforts were going unheralded.
The decisions came on the heels of the camp’s failure to raise the $40 000 required for participation in a lucrative World Boxing Council (WBC) qualifying tournament, slated for Guyana on February 25, by yesterday’s deadline.
Layne revealed that they had only managed to raise $5 000, the brunt of which had come from friends and small businesses.
“The boxers don’t think that the sacrifices they are making and their efforts in trying to put Barbados on the world map are being acknowledged,” he said.
“Both Miguel and Shawn have shown that they are world-class boxers who are capable of making it on the world stage, and all that they are requesting is a little assistance.
“But not even that they can’t seem to get,” Layne maintained.
The promoter – who has also managed the likes of Christopher “Shaka” Henry and “Marvellous” Marcus Thomas – revealed that he had approached both the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Sport for assistance, but to no avail.
“The Ministry of Tourism does not see it as a matter with which they should get involved with, and all we have heard from the Ministry of Sport is that they will look at it,” he said.
“But yesterday was the deadline, so I don’t think that they can be of any assistance to us.”
Layne believes that Barbados missed a tremendous marketing opportunity, with FOX SPORTS set to do extensive features on the countries of the represented boxers.
“This is a potential multi-million dollar deal which Barbados could have benefited from – for free,” he said.
“FOX Television would have come to Barbados and given us some exposure to countries all over the world for free.
“But we could not see that, we couldn’t see it fit to support our own, with the vision of the whole country benefiting from it in the long run.”
