Dear Editor,
In 2014 I revealed some of St. Martin’s all-time, great boxers to my comrades. And I got a great deal of kudos for “bigging them up.” They were some of the best “pound-for-pound fighting machines in the Caribbean.
But this time I would like to reveal the promoters/match-makers, the managers/trainers (coachmen and seconds), the referees and judges, and the ring-announcers. It is extremely important that I tell my comrades about these men, because they played crucial roles in St. Martin’s boxing history. And I would like to reveal their names so that they would not be excluded from our history.
Even though the sport of boxing is regarded as being barbaric, boxing is a science. Heads make books. Man put his knowledge on paper to teach man. During my research, I met some comrades who felt that most of the managers/trainers did not qualify because they did not go to boxing school. Again I say, “heads make books.”
These men’s wits and skills were remarkable. For example, Wilfred Williams (R.I.P.) would promote boxers and he would also train some of them. So it would be a dishonour to put most of them in one category. When Kid Chu Chu was sparring with his uncle and trainer George “Battling Siki” Pantophlet (R.I.P.) for a very tough fight, according to Chu Chu, Uncle “Siki” said, “Chu Chu, if you could make M.P. miss, you could any fighter miss.” Kid Gavilan (Ludwick York), a boxer with a powerful/stiff jab, was instructed by his trainer Edmond Cocks to utilize his jab against an opponent with a very, big head.
I have a little “juice” about boxing too, I like the sport. The following are the names of the promoters/match-makers: Wilfred Williams (R.I.P.), Daniel “Chopotin” Thewet (R.I.P.), Andres A.London (R.I.P.), Blair.Forde, Ivan “Fancy Boy” Lake, and Julian B. Lake.
The following are the names of the managers/trainers (Coachmen and seconds): George “Battling Siki” Pantophlet (R.I. P.),Aunaire “Kid Olneil” Richardson (R.I.P.),Charles Brown (R.I.P.),Witfield “Feely” Vlaun, The Duo Edmond and Russell Cocks, John “Poncey” Richardson, Fe Fe Adams, Carl Charbonnier, Ronal “Kid Mingo” (R.I.P.),Bobby Chance (R.I.P.),Ovie Laurence, Jacques IIbush” Rollan (R.I.P.),Antonio “Bolongo” Pantophlet (R.I.P.), Charles C. Lake, Daniel “Dan” Webster, Philibert “Phil” Petty, Dennis “Jack” Webster (R.I.P.),Felix “Poochi” Reiph (R.I.P.), Etienne “Tochi” Meyers, and Rudolph Henderson(Sonny Liston Jr.).
The following are the names of the referees and judges: Andres Salomon, Joseph “Longgun” Wilson (R.I.P.), Stanley Smith (R.I.P.), Johan “Joopie” Williams, Stanley Watkins (R.I.P.), and Bernard Halley.
Finally, the ring-announcers are: Freddie Richardson and Joslyn Arndell.
I would like to pay tribute to the St. Martin Amateur Boxing Association and Tante Jacinth “Jas” Bryan-Labega.
Special thanks to: Joseph “Poker” Proctor, Lewis “Crabman” Augter, Henderson Williams, Franklyn Maynard, Ludwick York, Charles C. Lake, Mercedes Wescot, Patrick Paines, Kid Chu Chu, and Philibert Petty.
Julien F. Petty
