Boxing-Coach Pacheco targets Olympic medal for Seychelles |29 May 2006

In fact, coach Pacheco, who is in his third month of a two-year contract, wants to help Seychelles win an Olympic boxing medal. Coach Pacheco has started instilling in local boxers his training methods and they are responding positively.

“I now need a bigger gym. There are many boxers and they are very enthusiastic,” he told Sports Nation last Friday at Victoria Gymnasium after getting out of the ring having done some sparring with Kitson Julie and Alvin Gabriel, two of the best fighters in the current crop of boxers.

The training session was the opportunity for the Seychelles Amateur Boxing Association (SABF) to officially launch the preparation of boxers called to the pre-selection head of forthcoming international events like the Seventh Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in Madagascar and the Ninth All-Africa Games in 2007.

“Seychellois boxers are good physically and I’m trying to instill in them Cuban boxing style which, in my opinion, is the best. Those boxers (Seychellois boxers) have worked with coaches of different nationalities, thus cultivating different style and techniques. I have to get them to box to the best of their abilities to win medals in international competitions,” 52-year-old Pacheco told Sports Nation.

Working with local coaches Rival Payet, Roland Raforme and Jerry Legras who have all boxed at the Olympic Games, coach Pacheco counts on everybody’s support, especially that of sponsors, to achieve his goal.

Two of the many Cuban boxing champions produced by Pacheco are Ariel Hernández, a two-time Olympic Games middleweight category gold medallist in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996) and Juan Carlos Lemus, gold medallist in the light middleweight division at the Barcelona Olympics. Lemus was also world champion in 1991.

The 13 boxers called to the Seychelles boxing pre-selection are Jean-Paul Mellie, Alvin Gabriel, Randy Monthy, Danny Labonté, Kitson Julie, Jovet Jean, Patrick Camille, Leeroy Léon, Dave Aglaé, Nigel Benoit, Andreix Ladouce, Ted Uzice and McFarlène Estrale.

G. G.