JERSEY has a rich history in many sports and boxing is one of them.
However, opportunities for Island boxers have been few and far between in recent years. But Miguel Ferreira is hoping to change that.
Ferreira is the club manager of Jersey Leonis and has connected with Ben Duff, head coach of the Guernsey Amalgamated Boxing Club, to take a joint-Channel Islands team to face a Liverpool select side in February with a view to more fixtures for a joint team to follow.
It will be the first time Jersey and Guernsey have teamed up this way.
“We’re trying to develop young boxers and give them opportunities to be able to compete at a much better level than we’ve ever seen in Jersey,” said Ferreira.
“It’s taking them out of their comfort zone as well. It’s all right boxing at home all the time, but in order to become a good athlete and a good boxer, they have to be used to going away.
“[Jersey and Guernsey] are very similar in set-up, very similar concept, very similar in skill. Myself and Ben Duff have been working very closely for the last ten years and we’re trying to help each other out. We’ve always talked about how we will struggle to compete at a high level because we don’t compete enough. It’s impossible. The UK is probably the top, top country in the world for boxing, so it’s always difficult. The idea means we can pick the best boxer of each of the islands and have a team that can compete.”
Ferreira says that Liverpool approached them to bring a team over in the new year to take place in the beautiful glass house Isla Gladstone in Stanley Park. Fixtures against the Home Counties and London are due to follow but, as usual, it comes down to a matter of funding. To help, Ferreira has set up a JustGiving page but also hopes to attract a sponsor.
“We’re trying to get some kind of sponsor for the trip itself. Obviously, like every other sport, travelling from the Island is very expensive. I’ve never been a big fan of doing a JustGiving page because I think there’s a lot more people out there with better needs but it may help with getting kit and stuff like that,” he added.
“The guys from Liverpool are really excited because they haven’t had a Channel Islands team over for a long time.”
Ferreira adds that the club’s focus is now primarily on developing junior boxers, exclusive to giving its senior boxers a chance for a bout as they do in home matches.
“We have a junior academy, as most UK clubs have now. We always had in the past people in their 20s who say they would love to get into boxing. They have one or two competitive bouts, but these guys will never be able to compete at a very high level because they start very late,” he continues.
“We have changed that in the last few years. We’ve been developing our junior academy and we have a real talented bunch of about 25 kids training now. We start them at 11 years old and what we’re trying to do is get them to have some competitions. By the time they turn senior they would have had quite a bit of competition already under their belt. The boxers are wanting to be developed and want to move forward. And this will help that.”
To find out more about making a donation, go to justgiving.com/campaign/channelislandsboxing