By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Junior boxers Lionel Pinder and Payden Palacious got a chance to put their boxing skills on display at the fourth Battle of the Islands Boxing Tournament in St Maarten over the weekend.

Pinder, who is a part of the Aftershock Boxing Club, secured a win in the middleweight category. Meanwhile, Palacious, 15, put up a valiant fight in the lightweight division but fell via unanimous decision in the end.

Vincent Strachan, president of the Bahamas Boxing Federation (BBF), said it was an honour to have the two juniors represent The Bahamas in St Maarten.

“One of the reasons why we make every effort to participate is because it gives our boxers that opportunity to participate in an event that is all encompassing. We would’ve liked to take a larger team but because of the lack of funding we were only able to take two boxers. If the Caribbean Championships kicks off in St Lucia next month, this opportunity allows them to see where they are in terms of preparation and development in their boxing,” he said.

This was the third appearance for The Bahamas at the Battle of the Islands Boxing Tournament in the last four years.

Pinder, 17, launched his boxing career in 2023 at the Bahamas Games. The St John’s College student has not had many sparring opportunities since then but according to Strachan he made great strides at the recent boxing tournament.

“He has been training from time to time and it shows that he has certainly improved in his performances since the Bahamas Games. I am quite pleased with his performance really and truly. He is one of the bright spots in amateur boxing in The Bahamas…I expect that he will probably go up to greater heights and higher weight categories because he will probably grow a lot more,”Strachan said.

Palacious, who attends Sir Jack Hayward High School, is also a newcomer to the sport of boxing. He currently trains under Giddet Williams and is actively a member of the Sir Jack Hayward Boxing team.

Strachan said the future is also bright for the 15-year-old.

“He is a recent entry into boxing. He is unafraid and he is ready for any competition. That in itself tells me that he has a bright future. He lost a division that could be called a hometown decision to a much more experienced boxer. I feel he gave a good account of himself and I am looking forward to great things from him,” he said.

The BBFis taking an active approach to replenishing the talent pool in boxing at the senior level. According to the federation’s president, the junior programme is thriving with young girls and boys taking an interest in the sport from as early as the primary school level.

“The junior programme is alive and well. The junior development programme has really gone to the roof and it is really on the move. Our junior programme is the strongest it has been for a very long time because without the junior programe there is no senior programme. That is where boxing has faded over the years because of the lack of development of the programme at the junior level.

“We are now working in the primary schools as well. Instead of our boxers getting started around the age of 14/15 we are now starting them at the age where it is always best to start at the primary level,” he said

Currently, boxers from New Providence, Grand Bahama and Inagua make up a majority of the talent in the junior boxing development programme but the plan for the BBF is to expand to other Family Islands.