The president of the Saint Lucia Boxing Association (SLBA) is brimming with excitement as the country prepares to host the OECS Invitational Boxing Championships in the coming weeks.
Over 100 boxers from eight territories will converge at the Beausejour Gymnasium from August 1 to 3.
As the defending OECS champions, Saint Lucia’s fighters will face fierce competition, with the invitational format drawing talent from across the Caribbean and beyond, including North America.
David Shakes Christopher, SLBA president, is promising an event packed with Creole flair that’s even bigger and better than last year’s.
“We have the French Canadians coming in this time around. We have the usual suspects, like Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, with the invitational countries.
And then we have the OECS—Saint Lucia, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda going to be here for sure,” said Christopher.
“Martinique. Guadeloupe, St Martin just got membership of the OECS, but they’re boxing under Guadeloupe. We have Cayenne sending some boxers. And also, the Cayman Islands are going to be here.”
The sport is at the crossroads in the Caribbean, with national bodies engaged in a tug-of-war between the International Boxing Association and World Boxing. The International Olympic Committee has backed World Boxing. As a result, federations like Saint Lucia that are members of the IBA cannot participate in the Summer Games. Christopher has previously said that joining World Boxing is inevitable.
“Boxing is on the ropes right now,” he told St Lucia Times. “We all know that internationally, the political interference in boxing has us on the ropes. But we are fighting off the ropes. And I think it’s just a matter of time before we see a few boxers breaking out from the OECS on the international level.”
With the support of the OECS Commission, this will be the second successive year that Saint Lucia will host the championships. Earlier this year, the federation also hosted the Caribbean Championships, before participating in the Creole Championships in Guadeloupe. The OECS competition will be the first of two in quick succession for some emerging fighters.
“Our preparation was really high this year,” Christopher insisted. “We intensified the training programme for the youths especially, because on the heels of the OECS, we have the schoolboys championship down in Guyana. The preparation is high in the south and at the national gym in Castries.
“The boxers are well motivated and really hyped for this tournament. And we are not only defending the championship this year, but we are going to look to mine more gold this time around. That’s the intention of the coach, to get more gold medals this time around.”
In 2024, Saint Lucia won 10 gold medals, along with ten silver medals, at the Vigie Sports Complex. The federation has been pushing to grow boxing locally. Cuban coach Yunio Quintero is assigned to Vieux Fort, discussions are ongoing regarding a proper gym in the south, and bags and gloves have been distributed islandwide. Christopher expressed concern that the work has not always produced the results, but he is optimistic about the future.
“We are definitely working presently right now to expand our programme,” he said. “If you can remember a couple of years ago, we issued equipment all around the island. But some are not bearing fruit like in Soufriere. We want to see more action come out of Soufriere and Choiseul. We want to widen our reach, maybe down to Ciceron, in that area. We want to go up to Babonneau and Gros Islet to get more young boxers into the programme. The programme is buzzing right now.”
Christopher noted that the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports, the National Lotteries Authority, the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee and the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority have been supportive of his organisation. He has also met with Yenielys Vilma Regueiferos Linares, the Cuban ambassador, in recent weeks to chart the way forward for collaboration between the two countries.
Saint Lucia has been putting the current generation of boxers in a strong position to succeed, and the federation is hopeful of broader international success in the years to come.
“We are trying to keep ourselves in line so we can see something big when it comes to boxing in Saint Lucia,” Christopher concluded. “But all in all, we are very pleased about where we are at.”
