SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
Major ‘Pain’ to face Acevedo in the Caribbean Showdown By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
M
eacher Major has not fought since he knocked out Martin Anderson on April 8. But he’s looking forward to shaking off the ring rust against Puerto Rican Roberto Acevedo at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium on December 16. The Caribbean Showdown, which is expected to feature three Haitian fighters on the undercard against Bahamian competitors, had an official press conference yesterday at BTC’s headquarters where the principal sponsors were introduced. “It’s been a long time since we had a major company backing the sport of boxing,” Major said. “It gives me more inspiration to go out there and try to accomplish my dream. Come December 16, I’m looking forward to a great fight and trying to take my career to the next level.” Major, 35, said he checked up on his opponent and his coach Ray Minus Jr saw a video, but he’s not concerned. He’s just looking forward to going into the ring and being successful. “He’s coming to the Bahamas, I’m not going overseas, so with the great backing of BTC, I’m looking forward to going out there and putting on a great fight
MEACHER MAJOR
for the Bahamian fans.” Having never lost a fight at home, Major, whose record is 226-1 with 18 KOs, said he doesn’t intend to get that string snapped right now and so he’s inviting the public to come out and watch him do his thing against Acevedo, who at age 29 is 8-3. Former heavyweight champion turned promoter Renaldo ‘the Terminator’ Minus thanked BTC for partnering with Sports Nutrition and Products Bahamas Limited for the event.
“This is BTC country and they are really showing it, because they are involved in every little thing in the Bahamas” Minus said. Leon Williams, the CEO of BTC, said their 500-plus staff are enthused about sponsoring the boxing show, just as they are about the Commonwealth Youth Games next July and FIFA for the beach soccer tournament. “It’s really a privilege for us to be here to sponsor the boxing match,” Williams said. “The DNA for BTC is the ability to give back to the country. We don’t just say this is BTC country, we live that. Everything that we do is about promoting the Bahamas.” Minus, who is working along with Katina Aziz, said they are looking forward to the show with Major as the headliner. “Meacher is on a mission for the British Commonwealth title. He’s right on track, but come the 16th, he has an obstacle in the front of him in the name of Roberto Acevedo,” Minus said. “Roberto Acevedo is no slush. He’s tough and Meacher knows he needs a tough fight just to propel him back into the ratings.” Minus also released the Bahamas versus Haiti undercard, which includes the return of Bernard Rolle in a heavyweight match against Decius ‘the Machine’ Delan, who is undefeated
as an amateur. “If Bernard catches him, I think that one will be all over,” Minus said. During the press conference, the Haitian boxers phoned in for an interview and each indicated in Creole that they intend to come to the Bahamas to put on a show. Rolle, who heard some of the comments in English, said he’s going to let his fists do the talking when he meets Delan in the ring. “He’s talking about destroying, but mouth can say anything,” Rolle said. “Let’s get in this ring.” Rolle, who has been inactive since he lost to Jerry ‘Big Daddy’ Butler, said he’s been preparing for the fight and he’s going to take advantage of this opportunity he’s getting through the sponsorship of BTC to make the show happen. Also, undefeated lightweight Lester Brown will put his 3-0 record on the line against Pierre Enabe, while Hensley ‘the Bruiser’ Strachan will take on Remy Felisier. General admission is $25 and VIP is $75, which includes drinks, food and ringside seating. Tickets are available online at SNPBL facebook and BTC’s facebook under events and all of their social networks. Immediately following the event, Aziz said there would be a party in the parking lot of the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.
Jamaal one of the top offensive linesmen for Eagles By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net JAMAAL Symonette never played a football game before he left the Bahamas as a teenager. But for the past four years, except one year when he sat out with an injury, he has been one of the top offensive linesmen for the North Carolina Central University Eagles. Symonette, back in action after sitting out the 2013/14 season, started every game at right tackle for the Eagles this season. On Monday, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) named Symonette to its All-MEAC Football Team as a member of the AllAcademic Team and All-MEAC Second Team after posting the team’s second-highest grade of 89 per cent on blocking assignments with 27 pancake blocks. The 23-year-old son of Geoffrey and Audrey Symonette will be graduating from NCCU on December 10 just before he and the Eagles play in the second annual Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl inside the Georgia Dome in Atlanta December 17 in a game at 12 noon that will be televised on ABC. “I never really watched football growing up, but somebody just came from Florida and looked at me and told me that I have a good size to play football, but I said I wasn’t interested,” said Symonette, who prides himself as being a grand nephew of the late Timothy Gibson, the 1973 author of the Bahamas national anthem.
“My parents told me that I should give it a chance and it brought me a free education. It allowed me to get a degree and my parents didn’t have to pay a dime.” After leaving St John’s College in 2010, Symonette enrolled at Miami Beach Senior High School for one year before he transferred to a private school in Hialeah, Florida and then it was on to NCCU where he studied accounting where he earned his degree. But at 6-foot-3 and 298 pounds, Symonette is even prouder of the way he has been able to hold his own at right tackle as he soared for the Eagles, including starting in every game they played this season. “When I first came to NCCU, we were really bad. We were about 2-9,” Symonette remembered. “When we got our new coaches in 2014, everything turned around for us. We won two championships in 2014 and 2015. This year, we went 9-0 in our conference and December 17, we will be playing for the bowl game. “I feel confident with my team. We always step up to the competition. Last week we played our rival school AT&T and it was a war going into the game, but we knew that we were the better team and we came out victorious. Going into this bowl game, we are going to prepare like we do any other game in the regular season. We are going to go out there to win.” During his tenure at NCCU, Symonette said he was excited to be a part of three championship teams in a row and to cap it off person-
JAMAAL SYMONETTE ally by being named All-Conference for academics and second team All-Conference member. There were also a number of other achievements that Symonette said he will take with him when he finishes as a member of the Eagles’ team. But if there’s any regard or disappointment, he indicated that it will be having to sit out the 2014 season after he ended the 2013 season with double shoulder surgeries that kept him out of action until 2015. The good thing coming out of the ordeal is that he never gave up. He remained focused on getting healthy again to finish off strong this year. It’s a lesson he wishes to share with other Bahamians who hope to follow in his footsteps. “Don’t give up. Keep fighting no matter what,” he said. “I came from a place where there were times when I didn’t know if I would
eat. Just keep pressing forward and put God first and I can guarantee you that everything will fall into place.” Symonette, who enjoys eating fried chicken and listed ‘Naked and Afraid’ as his favourite show, ‘Unruly Prayer’ by Popcaan as his best song for him to listen to, his favourite book to read as ‘The Glass Castle’ by Jeannette Walls, ‘Black Hawk Down’ as his most popular movie to watch and Kobe Bryant as his most impressive athlete, said once he graduates, if there’s no offer on the table for him to play professionally, he will enter the job market. But he noted that in February, he is scheduled to come home with his former coach in Miami to the Bahamas where they will participate in a showcase for local players. “This will be my coach’s first time in the Bahamas trying to teach Bahamians how to play football,” Symonette said. “So it will also be a nice homecoming for me as well.” Over the period of time he’s been playing the sport, Symonette at one time or the other has shared the field with a number of Bahamians, including Sheldon and Lawrence Williams, who are enrolled at Acadia Academy in Canada; Delmar Taylor, who graduated from Florida International University and is now a personal trainer at US1 Fitness Center in Miami; Anthony Hamilton, who is playing for Florida Atlantic University and quarterback Ricardo Lewis where they attended Miami Senior High School.
Star Sailors
League Finals, Pg 3
TIGER WOODS ON PAR FOR HERO WORLD CHALLENGE By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net LEGENDARY golfer Tiger Woods, insisting that he needs to play again, is excited about making his return to professional golf this week in the Hero World Challenge at the Albany Resort. At a press conference yesterday on the eve of the pro-am that will kick off the tournament today, Woods said there’s nothing like being back on tour, especially in an event that bears his name in the Bahamas. “To come here to Albany, it doesn’t get a lot better than this. I’ve had a lot of friends who are either athletes or celebrities come down here,” he said. “They’re never bugged, there’s no paparazzi. People understand. The members understand they want their privacy. “Albany, we have 1/10th of all the billionaires on the planet here and that’s saying something. For them to come down here and feel safe and feel like they can be here and operate and run their businesses but also bring their families and enjoy leisure time here as well and have that privacy is incredible.” For Woods, it’s even more special to make his return here. “The Bahamas is special in its own reason, but I also made my comeback here because this is my event,” he stated. “And I know you have to be in the top 50 in order to get into this event, but the committee allowed one person who’s outside the top 50 get into the event.” While the committee gave him the exemption to play in his own tournament, Woods said he’s just thrilled to be back with his peers again, many of whom watched in awe as he claimed 79 titles, including 14 majors during the prime of his illustrious career. “I think what most people don’t really understand is how much of a fraternity this tour really is. The amount of dinners I’ve gone out to with the guys, the texts, the phone calls over the last 14, 15, 16 months, the guys wanted me to come back out here and play or help in any way possible,” he said. “Playing practice rounds at home with the guys for a little side change has been fun, but to get back out here at this level has been a challenge. A lot of hard work, an extreme inordinate amount of patience, which as you all know is not exactly one of my hallmarks. So I’ve had to exercise that more so than usual, but it’s allowed me to get to this
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