Saint Lucia’s boxing team is heading to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, this week to compete in the 100th Central American & Caribbean Games. Before the event, the boxers completed intensive training in Georgetown, Guyana.
John Didier, a 19-year-old light heavyweight from Vieux Fort, became the first Saint Lucian boxer ever to advance past the opening round of a world championship. He achieved this milestone at the 2025 IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Danaii Cooman, also 19, won the super heavyweight title at last year’s Caribbean Championships. Khygan “The Hitman” Mortley, who competes in the middleweight class, is the team captain and turned 32 in January.
The three boxers will compete at Combat Pavilion No. 2 in the Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte sports complex. Before leaving for Santo Domingo, they trained with coach Conrad Fredericks during a five-day camp starting July 16.
David Christopher, who leads the Saint Lucian team for Santo Domingo 2026 and serves as president of the Saint Lucia Boxing Association, said the training camp was an important step in building a partnership with the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA).
Christopher said the idea for the camp came up during President Irfaan Ali’s recent visit to Saint Lucia for the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting. During the visit, President Ali met with members of the Guyanese community on the island.
“I want to thank President Ali, and my good friend [GBA president] Mr Steve Ninvalle, for making this camp happen. We are grateful for the support,” Christopher said. “It is important for Caribbean countries to work together. By sharing resources, knowledge and opportunities, we can all become stronger and better prepared for international competition.”
While in Guyana, the Saint Lucian boxers trained with Guyana’s CAC Games team comprising Terron Wintz, Desmond Amsterdam and Colin Lewis. They worked under the guidance of experienced coaches Francisco Roldan and Jeff Roberts.
(TF)
