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Reece Shagourie
Jamaica's boxing coach and manager at the XVI Pan American Games, Barrington Graham, has declared his middleweight fighter, Reece Shagourie, fit and ready for action when competition starts later today.
Graham and Shagourie flew into Guadalajara on Monday afternoon and the fighter has been in constant training since they landed.
"The physical shape is there as he is just coming out of the World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, and we have been attending a gym outside the Games Village since we arrived," Graham said.
In Azerbaijan, Shagourie, in a contest which could have gone either way, lost a very close decision, 20-19, to Mexican Juan Mercado and Graham expects a better performance from the fighter who is known to be fast moving, strong in defence and a good close-range tactician.
Graham also expects the quality of the fighters to be high.
"There will be less competition than at the World Championships where there were 517 boxers but individuals had to qualify to be here, so the quality will be good," he said.
Asked to rate his fighters chances of a medal, Graham said: "As a coach, you always expect the best. His best is good enough for me."
The draw for the competition takes place this morning and Shagourie, Graham said, should be fighting tomorrow. Many of the boxers from the region who went to the World Championships are expected to be in action, including Mexico's Mercado.
"There will first be the weigh-in between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and then we will have the draw from 11 a.m. to noon. In the afternoon and evening, there will be some bouts," Graham added.
