SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Despite their failure to win a medal at this year’s Central American and Caribbean Games, head coach of Jamaica boxing team Felipe Sanchez said he is proud of the team’s performance as they received invaluable experience and exposure from the championships.
Jamaicans ended their campaign at the championships on Saturday with just one victory from four fights. In fact, light heavyweight fighter Jaden Eccleston recorded the country’s only win at the tournament when he defeated homeboy Jairo Luna on last Thursday’s opening day of the event.
However, he lost 3-2 in the quarter-finals to Trujillo Wyatt from Centro Caribe Sports on Saturday night.
Nevertheless, Sanchez said the Jamaica team, which had three boxers making their international debut, did extremely well against some of the best fighters in the region.
“I definitely have to say I am very proud of them because at the end of the day, we had a very long and good preparation and we came to fight the best in the region and I believe that we did extremely well against them,” Sanchez told the Jamaica Observer.
“I think that one of the things that really stood out is the difference of preparation because being here at the games, I see the unity of the other regions and the Spanish-speaking countries getting together to prepare.
“We, on the other hand, spar on the island and we have a false sense of confidence when we fight and are the best on the island and when we come to compete against the region, we don’t have the prior preparation,” Sanchez said.
The other members of the Jamaican team were lightweight Daniel Hylton, middleweight Tevoy Barrett and featherweight Sanji Williams.
Sanchez shared that the championships has also opened the eyes of the Jamaican fighters and, therefore, they are now well aware of what is required to compete at the highest level on the international stage.
“I think that if we had a bit more exposure like this then we will be more prepared. I think this exposure have shown us the different styles and I believe that we are a bit stronger now than we were before, so this was an amazing experience for these boxers,” he said.
“I know that all of the boxers have learnt an immense amount from this competition. It is a bittersweet feeling, but at the end of the day, we are very grateful for the opportunity,” Sanchez said.
“We are grateful for the support that our country has given to us and the Jamaica Olympic Association for everything and so we are just going to come back better and stronger in the future,” he said.
The soft-spoken Sanchez also stated that the Jamaican boxers also received a lot of support and encouragement from the boxers at the tournament and this will also certainly help to build their confidence for the future.
“I think that something that resonated with me is how every country came to us and gave us so much support and they gave us compliments because they noticed the strength of our fighters,” he said.
“They told me that our fighters were stronger and more talented than the ones that beat us,” Sanchez said.
