The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER devoting more than 50 years in the sport, International Boxing Association (AIBA) referee Alvin Sargent is still making his contribution to amateur boxing.

Sargent, who celebrated his 71st birthday on Tuesday, was one of three officials to officiate the return of amateur boxing on Saturday night at the National Boxing Gymnasium. A large crowd of spectators showed up to watch the showdown between the host Aftershock Boxing Club and the Southside Marlins Boxing Club.

The event was organised by former amateur boxers turned coaches Valentino Knowles and Keishno Major. Among those in attendance were Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg and Director of Sports Timothy Munnings.

With the sport making a comeback after being shutdown since 2020 when the coronavirus struck, Sargent said he was delighted to be able to make his contribution as a referee with Gregory Storr and former successful amateur/professional boxer Jermaine ‘Choo Choo’ Mackey, who served as the lone judge.

“Considering the fact that I haven’t been in the ring for four years, I was pretty comfortable with myself,” Sargent said. “I am happy that the young guys (Knowles and Major) are trying to find a way to get some type of competition going again.

“In order for the sport to grow, the boxers need the competition and there were a lot of new guys on the card, so I think the sport is heading in the right direction coming out of some of the restrictions being lifted for sports in the country.”

And while he commended the organisers, Sargent said he would like to see more of corporate Bahamas stepping up to the plate and assisting in the revitalisation of the sport because there is a lot of potential for the young men in the country.

“There are so many other things these young men could be doing other than boxing. But we have to continue to encourage those ones who have decided to give the sport a try. I know when I was boxing, in our heyday, there were hundreds of boxers on the scene. There was no shortage of boxers to step in the ring to fight.”

In 1998, Sargent became the first Bahamian to earn a full AIBA referee certification. He held the position up to 2011. However, after he became the vice president of the Amateur Boxing Federation of the Bahamas in 2014, he was restricted from serving as an AIBA referee.

Once he relinquished his position, Sargent regained his AIBA certification, but he only got to the second star.

Sargent, who also served as chairman of the Bahamas Boxing Commission from 2012-2017 before he was replaced by Fred Sturrup, said he was pleased to see the new direction that boxing is heading in and he’s eager to continue to lend his support.

“There are several youngsters who I saw had great poise and talent and if they stick to the game, they could go places,” Sargent said. “Pound for pound and man for man, in sports, the Bahamas is on equal par with any country in the world.

“It’s just a matter of dedication, determination and the desire of the individuals involved. They have to put in the time in order to reach the heights that they need to attain to get to the next level in the sport.”

Sargent, who got started in the sport as a sparring partner for Ray Minus Sr, began his service as a judge at the North American Golden Gloves Championships in 1978 after he fought and defeated Dr Kevin Alcina in just his my second amateur fight.

“I made some inquiries as to how I could assist in judging and I was immediately given the okay,” Sargent said. “Since then, I’ve judged over 60 matches before I travelled to Santo Domingo in 1982 with Terry Goldsmith and Basil, both from Freeport, Grand Bahama and (Leonard) Boston Blackie (Miller) to take the AIBA’s North American Continental Referee and Judges exams and I passed.”

In 1998 while attending the Central American and Caribbean Games in Venezuela as the team manager, Sargent said he was also encouraged by Mexico’s Ricardo Contreras, then the vice president of AIBA and president of the North American Continental Area, who tried to convince him to sit the referee/ judge’s exam.

“I indicated to him no, I did not come to take any exam,” Sargent recalled. “He insisted and promised that he will provide an interpreter for me. I was not ready but after he insisted so strongly I took the exam and successfully passed with a score of 92 points,” Sargent said.

“I refereed and judged at those games and was adopted by some new friends, including Herbert Embuldeniya and his wife Neiva who made sure that I was present at the next big games at the Pan Am Games. At that time, he was an executive member of AIBA.”

Sargent, who got the opportunity to both box and referee and judge at every level of competition except the Olympic Games, was a former lightweight and light welterweight amateur boxer from 1972-1980.

The only thing the former long-time now retired employee at the Bahamas Electricity Corporation didn’t do was venture into professional boxing.

“I was concerned about the financial backing,” he said. “At the time, my take home pay on my job was pretty reasonable. I just didn’t have any desire to go to Miami to train, even though Elisha Obed got the door opened for me to move there.

“I wanted to go to one of the big cities like New York, Philadelphia or Detroit. I knew had I gone to one of those states, there would not have been any limitations for me. They produced the majority of the top boxers and if I had the financial backing, I would have gone to one of them.”

Having shun the opportunity to turn pro, Sargent said he was still able to officiate as a judge and referee on some of the top professional cards ever produced in the country.

Now as the sport is slowly coming back after a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sargent said he’s pleased to be able to work with officials like Storr and Mackey.

“Gregory Storr has been around for a while. He’s following in my footsteps and he’s getting the experience that he needs, so I’m happy to be able to share my expertise with him,” Sargent said.

“I haven’t done the same with ‘Choo Choo’ because this is the first time that I’ve had the chance to work with him in the amateur ranks as an official. But I’m prepared to work with both of them and any other persons who wish to get involved in officiating.”

Sargent, however, said there is a gap that continues to exist between the officials and the coaches of the boxers.

“More often than not, the boxers don’t know the rules, so the only way they can learn is if the coaches get to know the rules so they can pass it on to their boxers,” he said.

“We are not here to harm the boxers, just to pass on the information so that they can and should know what to do when they get into the ring.”

Without going into specific details, Sargent said there were some instances on Saturday when Storr and himself had to chastise some of the boxers and the coaches for some infractions before they got to fight. “We know that this was their first time in the ring, so there were some things they did that we had to point out to them,” Sargent said.

“We really didn’t want to hurt their spirits being their first time in the ring.

“But boxing is a game where, if you don’t have a good heart, the minute you get hit and you get discouraged because you couldn’t do certain things, they don’t come back. We want to discourage that type of mentality in these boxers. We want to keep them enthused and ready to go so that the sport can continue to grow in this pandemic.”

And even though the pandemic has forced persons to keep their distance and not enjoy too many things like they did in the past, Sargent said he was grateful to God for the opportunity to celebrate his 71st birthday on Tuesday.

“Things are just good and I’m just looking forward to the next 20-30 years, if God spares my life,” he said. “I know he’s able.”

Sargent’s birthday came a day before former boxing greats Quincy ‘Thrill-A-Minute’ Pratt turned 52 and David ‘Sugar Kid’ Bowe became 88 on Wednesday.

Pratt, best remembered for his three epic Bahamas bantamweight title fights against Ray Minus Jr, said he was joined by “Marvelous’ Marvin Smith and James ‘Kid Freeport’ Tynes in spending some time with Bowe at his home.

“Me and Marvin talked with Sugar Bowe all night. His family really enjoyed the time we spent with him,” Pratt said.

“Sugar Kid Bowe told Marvin how he remembered when he fought Kenny Minus for the second time, as a judge, he was pulling for Kenny because they were both from Exuma.

“But I have to say that Sugar Kid Bowe has done a lot for boxing, amateur and professional.

“He was also a very good boxer that we all looked up to. It was a pity that although we invited all of the boxers to show up, only the few of us did. We still had a good time.”

As for his own personal birthday celebrations, Pratt said his wife and children made sure that it was a day for him to remember.

Happy belated birthday to Sargent, Pratt and Bowe from The Tribune Sports Department.