Andre Lambe believes the hard work is paying off as he prepares to represent Bermuda at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Lambe, who has ten wins from 13 amateur bouts, has been training twice a day, five days a week for the past few months along with his Bermuda team-mate Tyler Christopher.

The pair will be the first boxers to represent Bermuda at a major international competition since Nikki Bascome at the CAC Games in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, in 2010.

Lambe qualified for the CAC Games after losing in the quarter-finals via a second-round stoppage at a qualifying competition in Tijuana, Mexico, in March.

The 22-year-old southpaw fell ill the night before his bout and determined to give a better account of himself in Barranquilla.

“I feel good and more confident this time,” said Lambe, who leaves the island today for the Games which run from July 19 to August 3. “We’re not too far from where we’re supposed to be. I’ve been training harder and I’m mentally prepared to go there and do what I need to do.

“All of the work we’re putting in is paying off. The hard work is making a difference.”

Lambe will have little or no knowledge of his opponents in Colombia, but has backed himself to make the necessary adjustments in the ring.

“You need to be alert because you don’t know who you will be fighting,” Lambe said. “You have to analyse your opponent and figure it out as you go.

“There will be some high-class fighters [in Barranquilla] and I have to be able to adjust.

Kevin “Manix” Simmons, the Bermuda coach, said Lambe and Christopher are “confident, but not overconfident” and should not fear any opponent in Barranquilla.

“We’re going to be fighting the same guys we saw in the qualifier,” said Simmons, who heads to Barranquilla on Thursday along with fellow coach Jermal Woolridge and the two fighters.

“We’ve already seen a lot of these guys and there’s nobody we can’t beat. Tyler got very close [to victory] last time whereas Andre wasn’t feeling too sharp. If he had been at 100 per cent, it may have been different.

“You can see it in their walk and talk — they feel confident.”

Simmons hopes the return of Bermuda boxers at the international level can have a “snowball effect” and inspire the island’s future pugilists.

“It’s going to be an hell of an experience for Tyler and Andre,” Simmons said. “Hopefully the youth will be like, ‘Hey, I can be like that guy’. How many of the youth want to be like Nikki [Bascome]? It’s a snowball effect.

Varo Pelon Andre, who trains Lambe at “Forty” Rego’s Gym in Warwick, believes Lambe and Christopher are “less timid” after their experiences in Tijuana.

“They have to stop underestimating themselves, and I believe they will be on the same level as the guys they will face,” said Pelon Andre, who will not be travelling to Barranquilla. “I think it gave them more confidence and they now know they are on that level — it’s a mindset.

“Tyler took it three rounds and it was a toin-coss decision. Andre was sick but he outclassed that guy in the first round.”