Boxing Legends

This page is dedicated to the heroes of the sport of boxing in Jamaica. It will highlight the champions of the sport as well as persons who have made significant contributions to the sport through service. Keep visiting to learn about Jamaica's boxing legends.

Tribute to Col. Ken Barnes

A Trailblazing Stalwart

Born in 1935, Colonel Roderick Kenrick Barnes was a native of Trinidad & Tobago. He came to Jamaica as a member of the West India Regiment but became a naturalised Jamaican citizen and a member of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) at its formation at Independence in 1962. He adopted his new country and embraced it wholeheartedly.

On February 19, 2009, Jamaica lost this most dedicated son. His passing at the age of 73 from prostate cancer has been marked with numerous tributes from national and international colleagues and friends, all hailing his sterling and selfless contribution to everything he was involved in.

Colonel Barnes, who served with distinction in the Jamaican military for 33 years between 1956 and 1989, is also remembered as the commanding officer of the Caribbean contingent to Grenada during the US-led invasion in 1983.

In the late 1970s, he was posted to the Jamaican High Commission in London, where he was a military attaché. He was once described by a Jamaican diplomat as ''a very highly respected sportsman and gentleman'' and he was an avid squash player.

Col. Barnes has always been heavily involved in sport. He was not a bystander. Col. Barnes was instrumental in the formation of Jamaica’s first bobsleigh team which went on to become a sensation at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada and assisted in the project that saw the Jamaica Olympic Association moving into its own offices in 2005.

He had his hand in several sporting arenas and served with honour on various boards and panels, including the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (President), the Jamaica Football Federation (President), the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association and the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica. Colonel Barnes also served as Chairman of the JDF Sports Board and the JDF Officers Club for many years. Pictured above: Jamaica Boxing Board of Control's general secretary Leroy Brown (left) and president Col Ken Barnes address the gathering at the JBBC's AGM. (Photo: Garfield Robinson. Published in The Observer Sunday, April 23, 2006)

He served as Captain of the National Football team in the 1950s and 1960s before being appointed as Manager of the National football team in the late 1960s.

He leaves behind his beloved wife Jeanne, daughters Gillian and Tracy, and son John along with many friends and relatives.