Local boxers prepare for trip to Ireland
 by Terron Hampton, Staff Writer

A contingent of boxers, coaches and referees from Prince George’s County and the surrounding area will travel to Northern Ireland next week for the fifth annual Belfast-Beltway Boxing Classic.

It will be the first trip to Ireland for local boxers as part of the Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that organizes cultural and athletic exchange programs. Formed in 2008, the program has brought a team of Irish boxers to Washington for the past four years.
 
The Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project has allowed local amateur fighters to cultivate relationships with their counterparts living in tough sections of Northern Ireland, which has endured years of civil strife. Several local boxing clubs and nonprofit organizations that specialize in mentoring at-risk youth have become a part of the program, including Clinton-based Time to Represent Inc. (X2rep). 

“This is the reason why we’re into boxing ... taking the guns off the street and putting the gloves on the hands of our youth,” said X2rep founder Anthony Murrill. “It’s about going for outreach and allowing our youth to understand what it means to be productive citizens.”

Five Prince George’s County residents will make the trip, scheduled for Jan. 18 through 22: Paul Jerry of Clinton, Jalonte Cole of Capitol Heights, Umar Ali of Forestville, Adam Mitchell of Suitland and Theron Johnson II of Temple Hills. Also making the trip will be Deonte Washington, Malik Jackson and Sam Elder of Washington, D.C., and Gervonta Davis and Roger Blackburn III of Baltimore.

Jerry, a junior at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, won the Washington Golden Gloves 125-pound novice division title in 2009. He said he is eagerly anticipating his first trip to foreign soil.
“It’s amazing,” Jerry said. “This is actually my first time out of the country. It’s kind of like building a relationship and having family members overseas. Some of the boxers frequently communicate with us here in the United States. It’s real good to know you have people to contact that thousands of miles away.”

Hillcrest Boxing coach Vardell McCann allowed X2rep to form its own boxing club — Fighting for the Future — which competes as part of Hillcrest Boxing. McCann himself has been to Ireland. More than 50 years ago, he competed in Dublin as member of the U.S. Air Force boxing team. He also has seen first-hand how valuable it is for young boxers to see the world. In 1978, McCann took a team sponsored by USA Boxing to South Africa, and in 1995 he took a team to Russia.

“It was like a brand new big toy for the kids,” McCann said of the South Africa trip. “The people over there were so nice to us. It was a lesson for the kids because there was still apartheid in South Africa. We had a team of different ethnicities and we saw signs at bathrooms saying “colored” and “white.” We had to realize what we were up against. It was a wonderful experience. I think these opportunities are important for the youth.”

District Heights Diamonds in the Rough Boxing coach Tai-Rhan McBride has helped form a local partnership with the Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project. He said that while the immediate focus is on the trip itself, the efforts of Diamonds in the Rough, the Belfast-Beltway Boxing Project and X2rep reach far beyond boxing. 

“The most important thing is the opportunity that is being given to our young men,” McBride said. “Realizing that some of them may not have the opportunity to travel abroad, this is a big deal for them and us coaches. This is an opportunity for our young men to learn about a different culture, to meet young men from Ireland. This is a relationship we’re building so that it will give youth in the future the same experience.” 

Published: Wednesday, January 11, 2012

thampton@gazette.net

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