National boxer Tianna Guy is set to make her professional debut at “The Headliner” on September 27th at the National Cycling Centre in Couva.
TTT Sports caught up with the number-one-ranked boxer in the Caribbean at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village, where she shared her excitement for the upcoming event while taking in the stick-fighting Gayelle on Ancestral Night.
“Overall happy to be here, happy to actually witness stick life. I come from a generation of stick fighters. My grandfather, my great-grandfather, was a stick fighter, his brother was a stick fighter. So, you know, it’s a way of carrying on the legacy. One of the key points about Headliner is that we’ll be merging all the combats together. So we have boxing, kickboxing, and stick fighting because we have a cultural combat sport in Trinidad and Tobago. I think it needs recognition and it needs the love and the support. So, you know, we’re bringing everything together. And I’m just excited to compete and to be there at the event.”
Guy, who is also ranked 12th in the world, said she’s happy to see stick-fighting still being recognised as a part of our culture.
“It’s just beautiful to see the appreciation that we have for different cultural aspects of Trinidad and Tobago. You know, we all know the history behind Emancipation. We all know the history behind stick fighting, and it’s nice to see that legacy carried on. The ancestors, what they did before. You know, the younger generation taking it up and carrying it through. So this is beautiful to see and my heart is filled.”