Boxing trainer Jody Solomon is hoping things will change for the better for fighters following a meeting of managers, trainers and boxers at the Hotbox Gym in Johannesburg on Saturday.
After deliberations by more than 30 attendees, Solomon was unanimously elected as chairperson of the voluntary trainers association in Gauteng.
“The meeting for me was going to see how many managers and trainers actually really care about their boxers in the sport. The take away for me was how important it is to put the boxers first and foremost. They had to be the paramount concern of every key player in the sport of boxing,” Solomon said.
“It was a very interesting and uplifting meeting with a lot of hope for the future. I’m grateful to be nominated as head of the trainers association and I’m going to do my level best to be there and be supportive and try to hear everybody’s needs and see how we can move forward together as a fraternity and make sure we have something for the future, for ourselves, for all the boxers and all the viewers and spectators who truly love the sport.”
With some tournaments being cancelled at the eleventh hour something which, many a times, left boxers in awkward situations in as far as finances are concerned, Solomon reckons that fighters should be compensated accordingly after sweating it out at their respective gyms.
“Moving forward, I hope we will be able to meet our goals of making sure that boxers are taken care of. Without boxers, we don’t have boxing. For example, I’d like to make sure that if a tournament is cancelled at the last minute, that the boxers are properly compensated, especially for the hours of training. When it comes to pass, officials are there with the boxers’ interests at heart. They are actually there to protect the boxers and make sure the safety of boxers is paramount as well as fair judging, fair scoring that boxing can actually grow,” Solomon remarked.
