“For me, the Boxers have always come first, second and third “ says Gibraltar boxing legend Ernest Victory

Gibraltar saw its first official development boxing event organised by the Gibraltar Boxing Association these past weeks. The one day event, hosted at the Tercentenary Sports Hall saw Gibraltar host a team from Ireland and attracting close to a thousand fans to the event. Whilst such an event had not been seen locally for some years, due to covid, logistics and other important factors which have prevented the association from hosting such events, the hunger for local boxing has not waned with the public turning out in numbers to support their local boxers.
The event, which saw the Tercentenary Sports Hall transformed into a boxing arena nearly overnight, was not without its behind the scenes difficulties. The GBA, as an amateur association had to call upon its many supporters to volunteer their time and effort to put on what was a sporting show which left many delighting and wanting to see much more.
The preparations themselves, in getting boxers ready for their big night, for many their debut on the ring competitively, was also something few consider when watching such events.
However, behind the scenes one man, whose experience both on and off the ring has led to being described as “legendary” in local boxing circles, provided the experience and know-how which saw the event seamlessly go from a publicised event to a successful night of boxing for Gibraltar’s young, and not so young, talents.
Ernest Victory, a name which many have associated with boxing for many decades, was among the many who worked tirelessly behind the scene. As National Head Coach, he prepared boxers for their big day, but notably, his experience also saw him guide the many volunteers in the preparations which saw the event hosted successfully. With the event now behind us, and thoughts onto where next we had a chance to catch up with Mr Ernest Victory.

Gibraltar saw a return of boxing in front of its home crowd these past weeks with the GBA organising an event at the Tercentenary Sports Hall in which developing young boxers had the opportunity to display their skills against visiting opponents. As someone who has been in boxing for so long how difficult was it this time round to bring everything together compared to past events?
Ernest Victory - I have been involved in boxing for many years and the Association has always done everything requested from us, this time it has been no different. We have always done boxing in a regulated, licensed, and safe manner and in line with IBA (formerly AIBA) requirements.
Unfortunately not everyone is being asked to meet the same requirements.

As we all know the sport has always needed a number of health and safety measures put in place. However, these have increased from our understanding in recent years in which there is greater emphasis now placed, not just by the authorities but also the expectations from the public. Could you tell us how these have changed throughout the years? And how did you overcome any problems you might have encountered?
Ernest Victory - We have always done things the right way, so nothing has changed for us. Everything that has been requested from us (including new requirements) we have done.
The safety and wellbeing or our boxers and their opponents have always been our top priority.
Thankfully and even though the Association has been governing local boxing for over 65 years, there has never been an accident or any incidents of concern. For me, the Boxers have always come first, second and third.

Boxing, as we have seen through the recent decades has started to take on a more commercial pathway for some, looking at it more as a form of entertainment and not the sport. However, the GBA has continued to provide events like seen this past weeks with an emphasis on the sport and not the glamour or economics. How important is it for you that this is maintained?
Ernest Victory - Apparently some people locally (that have nothing to do with the Association) want to turn Amateur Boxing into a business. For me Amateur Boxing has always been about the development of the sport, giving back to the community and keeping kids off the streets and not about money.

Some 1,000 people attended the event you organised. Most people walked into the Tercentenary Sports Hall and would have found a covered floor, the ring, the stages and lights and would not have thought much of how the event changed the whole look and feel of the venue to meet its requirements. Could you tell us to what extend you had to go to make the venue ready for the event day and what were your main difficulties? If you could also tell us how many people and for how long did you have to work to get the venue ready, I understand that it was 4am on the eve of the event that your volunteers were heading home to get some rest.
Ernest Victory - We did not have much of a choice, as we had to adapt to GSLA requirements and schedules. The main difficulties regarding these requirements were around time constraints.
Many volunteers assisted pro bono and donated countless hours of their free time (into the early hours of the night) to ensure that the event was a success. Lots of hard work happened in the background before, during and after the event.
There are too many people to thank individually, but they know who they are.
Events such as that seen this past weeks are not easy to provide on a regular basis but how can you balance between giving your boxers a platform to perform and the costs and resources required to provide such an event?
We have lots of kids and adults in training, so we try our best to give them the best platforms available for them to perform as much as possible.

Outside of the actual fight night, to get there boxers need to be ready. What changed in the weeks prior to the event so that your boxers were ready? And do you think people realise the work required to prepare boxers not only so that they can perform at their best, but also to ensure that when they enter the ring they are prepared for what is ultimately a scenario in which mistakes could mean injuries?
Ernest Victory - We advise our boxers to train properly and frequently. They know it is a tough sport and our mission is to get them as prepared as they can be both physically and mentally.

On a personal level, after so many years in the sport, what keeps you going?
Ernest Victory - A lot of dedication and love for the sport. I am a fighter and will never give up, no matter what age. Ernest Victory still has a lot to give to the sport, even at 79 years of age.

Now we have seen the first event after several years absence, and with interest from clubs such as the one in the Isle of Man that indicated their interest publicly on social media, do you hope that you will be able to bring more events together in the near future? And if so, what resources do you hope you can now get having shown the interest that still exists for the sport?
Ernest Victory - It depends if the Gibraltar Government will allow us to do our job as the Governing Body for local boxing or not. We know what we are doing, we have been doing it for over 65 years and we should just be allowed to do what we do best.
We had great feedback from our last event, which was a massive success, so we hope we are allowed to continue doing our job as an Association.