Saint Lucian middleweight boxer, Garvin Donaie, competed in a boxing tournament, which was held in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, from December 2-4, 2022.
Donaie, 21, lost his bout by split decision to his Guadeloupean counterpart despite the referee giving the latter a standing eight-count in the second and third rounds. The young boxer said the bout was a bittersweet one for him.
“The experience was fine in terms of how we were treated,” he said. “I mean we were treated respectfully, and everything went as it should on the professional side of things. In terms of fighting, for me I was really excited to fight. I worked really hard for the fight, but I just felt like I was robbed. I was clearly the better fighter. I won the fight clearly, but to come out short, in the end, was devastating for me.”
Meanwhile, National Head Boxing Coach, Conrad Fredericks, said despite the controversial decision, the Vigie Gym will continue to press on by focusing on improving the boxers’ skills. He said plans are already in the pipeline to host national competitions and exhibition matches from early next year to prepare the boxers better for regional and international bouts.
“In the future, I’m looking forward to us having more fights at home because at present we’ve been depending on those regional and international fights,” Fredericks said. “It’s one of the reasons why many of our fighters don’t show improvement because they do not get fights at home.”
Another Saint Lucian boxer, lightweight Herve Charlemagne, travelled to Guadeloupe with Coach Fredericks and Donaie for the tournament. However, Fredericks said the fourteen-year-old did not get a bout due to errors made in assigning boxers to the respective categories.
The boxers’ participation in the tournament came via an invitation from the Association Hibiscus Boxing Club (HBC) des Abymes, as part of the club’s thirtieth anniversary and also the town’s festival.
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