Fighters set to unleash at JBA’s first card for 2025

The Jamaica Boxing Association (JBA) will stage its first fight card for the year on Saturday at the Stanley Couch Gym in Parade Gardens, downtown Kingston.

It is being staged under the banner of the 'Gloves Over Guns' Futures Initiative, which is designed primarily for community development.

There will be two professional bouts on the card, which will have 11 bouts overall. The night will start with novice boxers, who are going into the ring for their first competitive fight, and will move on to showcase experienced boxers, all the way to the pros.

Boxers from clubs all across the island and some schools, such as Irwin High in St James, Muschett High in Trelawny and Penwood High in the Corporate Area, have been preparing to showcase their skills on Saturday night, beginning at 7 p.m.

Some of the clubs that will be battling for supremacy are the Jamaica Defence Force, with a very strong team, Suga Gym in Olympic Gardens, Port Antonio Gym, and Fit Like a Fighter Initiative out of Portmore.

Stephen 'Bomber' Jones, president of the Jamaica Boxing Association, was upbeat about Saturday's fight night.

"After having three very successful Futures events at the end of last year, we will build on that momentum with its resumption this Saturday at Stanley Couch Gym," he said.

"The Futures series is a platform borne out of the Gloves Over Guns initiative, where the future stars of Jamaica get to show off their talent, and the public gets to see, firsthand, the journey of our champions from the outset. So Saturday will feature our grassroots boxers from high schools, elite boxers on the road to the Olympics 2028, and culminating with two exciting pro bouts," Jones added.

"So it's a good start to the year, and we'll be having this the last Saturday of every month."

Sponsors include Sandals Foundation, KFC and Good Life water. The fight night comes on the back of the local boxing authority's clinic for coaches, which was held in January at the Stanley Couch Gym under the guidance of Ava Sturm, a sports performance coach out of Canada. It included 20 coaches from across the island.