World Boxing’s President van der Vorst for four-day Jamaica visit

Boris van der Vorst, president of World Boxing, will begin an official visit to the island starting this Saturday. Van der Borst, who is slated to land at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, will be visiting for four days.

Stephen 'Bomber' Jones, president of the Jamaica Boxing Association, welcomed van der Vorst, saying, "Jamaica will be welcoming the president of World Boxing for the very first time, which is a really big deal, especially with boxing now officially included in the 2028 Olympic Games."

The fight sport president will get the opportunity to see firsthand Jamaica's boxing on display in Montego Bay when he visits the Jamaica Boxing Board's gym in the Second City. He will also see the schools' programme which is under development at St Andrew Technical High School in Kingston.

During the visit, van der Vorst will be exposed to some of Jamaica's loved cultural spaces to experience the warmth, beauty, culinary delights and essence of the island. Additionally, he will be involved in discussions with stakeholders in the sports and boxing community to strengthen, support and endorse the development of boxing on the island.

"We've been putting in the work here, the entire boxing fraternity from the grassroots level right up to the elite, and I'm very proud that Jamaica is playing its part in boxing development across the region," said Jones.

"So as a regional goal, it is to make the Caribbean a real force to be reckoned with on the global stage. And having the president here gives us a chance to show what we're building and, hopefully, get his endorsement before he leaves, so we are looking forward to welcoming him for a couple days," said Jones.

Van der Vorst is an experienced and passionate boxing administrator with a track record of transformative leadership and an accomplished entrepreneur in the healthcare industry.

He has a rich history and commitment to keeping boxing at the heart of the Olympic Movement and fostering its sustainable development. That was the driving force behind his desire to keep boxing in the Olympics when he became a founding member of World Boxing and its first president in 2023. He noted that Jamaica is an important plank in the development of the sport in the Caribbean and the world.