By Rawle Toney
One of Guyana’s top amateur boxers, Clive Atwell, yesterday announced that he has decided to finally make the bold transition to the professional arena.
Atwell, the Caribbean’s 2007 bronze medalist at the Pan-American championship, has sought the expertise of veteran boxing consultant Herman Harris; father of Guyana’s former WBA Light Welterweight world champion ‘Vicious’ Vivian Harris.
“I think after years of being a champion as an amateur fighter, it is time for me to move on and I think that time is now. I honestly believe that I have had enough here and I have nothing more to accomplish, so I’m moving on with the big boys, ” said Atwell who has just returned from his second outing at the World Boxing championship which was held in Italy.
“Mr. Harris (Herman) and I go a long way back, as a matter of fact, he has been giving me advice since when I was under the late Donald Allison at Ricola Gym in Agricola so I think that he is the right person I want in my corner and plus he has years of experience in the business,” Atwell noted.
Harris told Stabroek Sport yesterday that indeed he had been keeping a close eye on Atwell’s steady progress in the amateur arena and was convinced that he chose the right time to make the move.
“I’ve been around boxing for a very, very long time. As a matter of fact I’ve had two sons who’ve boxed; one of them was a world champion so I know when I see a fighter who has what it takes to make it to the top of this game. Atwell indeed is an accomplished amateur fighter and I like when a fighter thinks that he is ready to make the move to the next stage because there is only so much you can accomplish as an amateur fighter,” Harris said.
Harris believes that since Guyana’s Peter Abdool has recently been named President of the Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) Caribbean fighters should seize the opportunity and make the best of it especially since Abdool has made it clear that fighters from the region would be given top priority.
“I believe that this is the right time. I’ve been looking at fighters in his division and I believe that he has what it takes to climb all the way. With us now having a Guyanese at the top of the sport I think that Caribbean fighters now have a chance to go all the way and if you notice, Caribbean boxers, Leon Moore and so on, are making that path for the youngster, so I believe he couldn’t have chosen a better time to make the move,” he added.
Harris stated that he has been keeping in touch with his counterparts in other Caribbean countries and as such, Atwell could be making his professional debut by the end of November.
“I don’t want to rush him into anything, even though mentally and physically he is ready to make the walk out without the guards and so on, he has to do some work. It’s a whole different training all together so by next month Atwell will move on. So look out, this kid will be and I’m not talking because I want too, he will be a world champion, take it from me,” a confident Harris told Stabroek Sport.
Atwell began boxing in 2002 under the late Allison and has 64 fights under his name with seven loses.
Two years into his career, Atwell went on to win the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association (CABA) flyweight title and would later win the CABA bantamweight weight title.
But the Agricola resident’s highlight as an amateur fighter came in 2007 when he copped bronze at the Pan-American championship which was held in Rio De Janerio, Brazil.
His medal was the Caribbean’s first in eight years at the games and Atwell believes that it will always be his shining moment in the sport.
