SPORT ‘They understand me’

Judo star Ashley McKenzie on why he decided to represent Jamaica. By Matthew Chadder

THREE-TIME OLYM-

PIAN Ashley McKenzie has enjoyed a fruitful career in judo and will now take his talents from Great Britain to Jamaica.

He has made the switch because he is of the opinion that the Caribbean island has greater ‘understanding’ of his needs. During his career, Ashley has competed at three Olympics, made his Olympic debut at London 2012, and has since won two European bronze medals in 2013 and 2018. The athlete has featured on various reality shows, such as Celebrity Big Brother and Ex on the Beach. Ashley will represent Jamaica with immediate effect during the upcoming International Judo Tour and spoke of his excitement at the switch.

MC: Why do you think more athletes are making the switch to represent Jamaica?

AMc: I think it’s down to the understanding. Being Jamaican, they have given me full support. I can do whatever tournaments and competitions I want to do. I can go to the World Championships, the Olympics, with my coach that coaches me every day, who knows me inside out.

I think a lot of athletes get a lot of freedom when they switch and that alone makes someone happier and want to train and succeed. It does mean a lot to me because my dad’s Jamaican and they’ve welcomed me with open arms, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted, to have a bit of understanding.

MC: How much pride and excitement do you have to represent Jamaica?

AMc: I’ve got so much pride. My dad has been a big part of my life, he has supported me so much in the early stages of my career and I’ll happily say I’m mixed race and half Jamaican.

I will hold that flag up high. I like reggae music, Caribbean food, it’s just me so I’m very proud to represent Jamaica.

I’m not doing it because it’s easier, I’m doing it because I want to represent them.

MC: Talk to me about your judo journey so far?

AMc: When I was born, I had a hole in my heart, and I have ADHD. I wasn’t allowed to do boxing because I used to have epileptic fits, so my mum didn’t want me to get into boxing. When I was 11, I was playing Pokemon cards and a guy came up to me and asked if I wanted to swap but he wouldn’t give my card back. I went to hit him, and he just threw me so I ran home and told my mum, and we found out about judo, and I asked if I could give it a go! Don’t get me wrong, it’s been very hard, doing judo and having ADHD. I came fifth in the Youth Olympics and Mark England came up to me and said: ‘If you just keep your head down, you’ll make it,’ and I was like ‘Yeah right, do you know who I am?’

I remember coming in from judo, and there was a letter that had arrived and my mum giving it to me with a smile on her face, but she was also crying, and it said Ashley McKenzie, you’ve made it to the 2012 Olympics!

I was very grateful for my mum and dad’s support and my family. However, I was 22, I was still very young. Years later, in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, I managed to get to the finals, and it was one of the best moments of my life because I was around the people that

I had given hell to when I was younger. Just to give back to them was special and things just snowballed, and I managed to go to another Olympics. It is now at a point where my final Olympics will be in Paris next year. Paris is important to me because in one of my first major tournaments, the Paris Grand Slam, I got a medal, in front of my daughter who is French. So, I thought to myself, I could easily just quit, but I decided to go and fight for Jamaica.

Boxing icon Lewis admits to being in ‘some mentally tough places’

By Rodney Hinds

LENNOX LEWIS, former undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world, has confessed that he has been in some mentally tough places during his illustrious career.

Lewis, the 1988 Olympic champion, believes that having the right mentality drives success in boxing, drawing on his own personal experiences growing up and throughout the sport.

On mentality in boxing, he told Laureus.com: “Boxing is an individual sport, so the outcome really depends just solely on you. With a team sport like basketball or football or soccer, you’re depending on other players. So, that’s why boxing, if you’re focused and mentally strong, you’ll succeed.

“There’s been a lot of mentally tough places in my career, and, you know, if I didn’t have good people around me, I probably don’t know where I would end up on that. But I had great people around me talking to me, and, you know, great people to go and speak to.

“I know, even seeing, nowadays, boxers dealing with mental challenges, some of them can’t take it and they implode. And, I’ve seen the results of the imploding in the ring, you know, and it’s not a nice thing and you don’t want to be that guy.”

The highly respected Lewis also had his say on the current generation of heavyweight fighters and believes that Fury v Usyk needs to happen.

The 57-year-old believes that WBC title-holder Fury is the best heavyweight boxer of this era and that he must take on WBO, WBA and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk.

When discussing the current status of heavyweight boxing in the world, Lewis, said: “The crop of heavyweights that we have now, we’ve got Tyson Fury at the top, a great heavyweight for this era. He’s southpaw and orthodox, he boxes both ways.

“He loves Muhammad Ali, like me… he loves me. And he was able to draw energy from me, Muhammad Ali, and the fighters that he loves and put them on himself.

“So, when you talk about eras, he’s definitely the top man in this era. And if you talk about the last era, you’re only talking about me, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. So, this era’s definitely got three top guys.”

Lewis, who became the last male fighter to claim the undisputed heavyweight title after defeating Evander Holyfield in November 1999, is now a commentator in the sport and believes that Fury v Usyk, which is currently ‘off’ according to promoters, is the most sought-after fight in the sport.

He added: “The two guys that I want to see right now probably would be Fury and Usyk. That would be a great fight. Plus, I believe they have to meet me because I’m the last undisputed heavyweight champion of the world right now. So, in order for one of those guys to have my crown, they have to fight.”