June 16, 2008 — Virgin Islands boxers soared to new heights in Ecuador earlier this month during the Pan American Senior Boxing Championships, racking up their sixth and seventh medals on their way to the summer Olympics.
Members of the V.I. National Boxing Team have been turning heads at the three international competitions they have participated in this year, out-medaling boxing powerhouses such as Cuba, Brazil and Puerto Rico. At pre-Olympic qualifiers held in Trinidad and Tobago, and Guatemala, a showing of seven V.I. athletes netted five medals.
"It's a good feeling when we go away and other people say, 'here comes the Virgin Islands,'" said Tony Rosario, boxing federation president. He said the V.I. qualified the most athletes for for the Pan Am tourney.
On their latest trip to Cuenca, Ecuador, however, the team had to worry about more than just their competition as a difference in altitude and climate came into play.
"We were high, high, high up in the mountains," said John Jackson, who qualified for the Olympics a few months ago. "We were up in the clouds and the air was thin. It was a really interesting experience, because it was also very hot and somewhat hard for us to breathe. Some of the other boxers even got nosebleeds because they weren't accustomed to the high altitude."
Jackson used the trip as a tune-up, to work on his technique and gauge his competition. In the first round, Jackson overpowered his opponent from Brazil, beating him 17:8.
"It was a good fight," Jackson said. "I came out with a strong defense and combinations that seemed to tire the other guy out."
In the finals, Jackson took on Carlos Benteurt of Cuba, but lost in a 5:1 nail-biter.
"It was a very close fight," Jackson said. "I threw a lot of body shots, but he had a very good defense so it was hard to score. I fought really hard, though, and tried my best. Some people even thought I won the fight. But it was good practice, because I might meet this guy in the Olympics."
Also on the trip — and still vying for a spot in the Olympics — was V.I. boxer Samuel Rogers. Rogers reached the semi-finals, but lost 7:1 to Cuba's Emilio Correa, the reigning Pan American and European middleweight champion.
While he was disappointed in not qualifying for the Olympics, he still has much to be happy about, says Rogers' trainer Julian Jackson.
"Samuel is about to really go to another division, and that's marriage — he's going to get married to his fiancé, and I'm really happy about that," Jackson said recently. "This kid is a trainer's dream and I know he is going to surprise the Virgin Islands — it's going to be incredible, the things that I know are going to happen with him. Because Samuel is getting ready to shift his gears into the professional ranks — and he may be the first athlete coming out of this program that will be turning pro."
Next up for the V.I. boxing team is a trip to Barbados for another tournament, and then to on to Asia to start getting the athletes acclimated to conditions in Beijing.
"Our technique is right there, as far as all the boxers' abilities," Jackson said. "These trips have been all about learning, getting our boxers to that physical level for the Olympics. And then after the Olympics, I believe that most of our [boxers] will be turning pro."
Getting used to foreign climates is not the only concern for the V.I. Boxing Team, said Rosario. Air pollution and a 17-hour time difference are some another key concerns.
"Every other Caribbean country is taking their athletes to Seoul, Korea 14 days before to get acclimated," Rosario said. "We've been having to fight with our government to do the same thing, but they want us to go in only a couple days before. We have a meeting soon with our Olympic Committee, and we're going to insist that we have to go over to China early — our athletes have to get acclimated if we want a chance to win.
"We're not going there just to participate — we're going to win. That's our mission. All we want is for our athletes to see the opportunity to win, and for our government to give us a fighting chance."
The Virgin Islands is a favorite to medal in the summer games, Rosario said.
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