Lawrence, Reid ready for young guns at US Open

JAMAICAN lightweight fighters, – 169lb – Ackeem Lawrence and Nicholai Reid, have been important mainstays in the combined martial arts team’s arsenal, especially team-fighting, which the unit dominated internationally, once going unbeaten in 53 matches.

In addition to their team-fighting exploits, complementing middle and heavyweights to win gold medals at the Gold Cup, formerly staged at the annual International Sports Karate Association’s US Open in Orlando, Florida, as well as team-fighting gold at the European International Sports Kickboxing Association Amateur Members Association (ISKA AMA) World Championships held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in 1998, Jamaican lightweights have also excelled individually.

Lawrence and Reid, combined martial arts team members, both 32, are among the Jamaican fighters aiming to increase their gold-medal tallies at the US Open now under way at the Coronado Springs Resort.

Reid, fresh off points-sparring gold at the October 2024 ISKA AMA World Championships in Vienna, Austria, was set to compete late yesterday in continuous and clash sparring. Lawrence’s schedule is tighter, continuous and clash sparring yesterday, followed by points sparring this afternoon.

Acknowledging that the US Open’s lightweight division features super-fast 20-odd year-olds, Reid said his experience and training, which won him clash-sparring gold in 2023, will again be his main weapons against the young guns.

“I am young as well,” Reid mused. “They can try but I am here to stop them,” he added, adamant to regain the title he lost last year, having missed the US Open due to the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

Meanwhile, Lawrence, a former combined team captain and two-time Night of Champions US Open ITF World Championships winner, who also missed last year’s US Open, said he hopes to add more US Open medals to his trophy room.

“I am up for continuous, clash and points-sparring. I won points-sparring gold last October in Vienna and a bronze in continuous, so I am not worried about the youngsters at the US Open,” Lawrence pointed out.