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Top boxers from across the Caribbean could be heading to Bermuda as the island bids to host the regional championships.

Bermuda has been asked to put on the 2008 Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association tournament, after Dominica pulled out.

Now island boxing chiefs are trying to assemble a committee and get support from government and corporate sponsors to make the event happen.

"We feel we can put on a much better, more spectacular show than a lot of the other islands," said Gladwyn Bean, president of the Bermuda Amateur Boxing Association.

The CABA championships are a week-long festival of boxing featuring fighters from every country in the region.

The host nation typically puts on a week of culture themed events and parties to supplement the boxing.

Fighters compete in 15 different weight categories, with separate events for junior boxers.

Bermuda sent a three-man team to this year's event in Trinidad and picked up a bronze and a silver medal.

Youth boxing schemes will begin at CedarBridge and Berkeley in the next few months and the association is trying to set up two further programmes for young boxers in Somerset and St. George's.

Bean said the aim was to have competitions between the clubs to select the best boxer in each weight division.

He said if Bermuda was to host the competition, it should have a full complement of boxers.

"We will host box-off competitions to give people a chance to qualify for the Bermuda squad."

He added that the sport was immensely popular in Bermuda - as the Fight Night crowds testify - and was well placed to put on a spectacular event.

He said hosting CABA would galvanise the boxing community and lead to a series of exciting events as the island's best duked it out to qualify for the team.

The next step, he said, was to get the organizing committee assembled.

Meanwhile, the association is still looking for a contractor to carry out the necessary repairs to transform Admirality House into the island's first dedicated boxing gym.

"We have the money, we have the location, we just need someone to do the work," said Bean. Anyone who can help with the Admiralty House project or want to be part of the CABA organizing committee should call him on 236-4636.[[In-content Ad]]

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