The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH he still searches for his first win in the World Series of Boxing, Carl Hield ended the year ranked as the No. 13 boxer in the league’s welterweight division.

Boxing with the Mexico Guerreros, the 27-year-old Hield continues to garner attention from the international boxing community for his rise on the international amateur scene. He was defeated by Mahamed Nurudzinau of Azerbaijan in week two when the Guerreros lost 5-0 to the Azerbaijan Baku Fires.

Nurudzinau was scored 50:45 on the scorecard for each of the five judges.

Despite the loss, Hield was named the “Boxer of the match” by the World Series of Boxing and they called it a “positive step forward” for Hield and for Bahamian sports in general.

Recognised as one of the International Boxing Association’s “success stories” after competing in the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013 as a member of AIBA’s “Road to Dream” programme.

The programme is aimed at supporting fighters from developing boxing nations.

Following his performance at Almanty 2013, Hield was selected by the Guerreros to join the team. He has acquired 135 points thus far for the Mexican side who are ranked No.5 in Group B with a 1-3 record for a total of three points.

Individually they have fought their way to 6-14 record in 20 bouts.

New to the WSB, The Cuba Domadores lead the division while Astana Arians out of Kazakhstan are second and with Russia third.

Hield is one of four fighters to represent Mexico in the welterweight division, but was one of only two fighters to see action in the ring thus far this season along with Marvin Cabrera who has a record of 7-1.

The Guerreros are slated to face the Russian team on January 11. However, the welterweight division will not be contested.

Hield’s next opportunity in the ring could come in week six when Mexico will face the Cuba Domadores on January 18. He was heavily scouted by Guerreros head coach Francisco Bonilla, who has been the national coach of Mexico for eight years.

Bonilla won the first Olympic medal for Mexico since 1988 with Christian Bejarano at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (bronze).

His list of achievements also includes PanAmerican Games gold medal with Carlos Cuadras in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 and AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships titles with Oscar Valdez and Oscar Molina in Guadalajara in 2008.

Bonilla also qualified three boxers for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and more recently, two of his boxers qualified for last season’s WSB Individual Championships.

The World Series of Boxing is a relatively new initiative which is just in its third edition.

Aimed at bringing together the top amateur boxers around the globe, World Boxing Series bouts are contested in a team format in 10 weight categories.

According to the World Boxing Series website, the WBS is “the first ever pro-style competition where boxers retain their Olympic eligibility and moreover, the first event which sees national-based pro boxing teams go head to head in a league format. Endorsed by nearly 200 national federations, it represents the future of boxing. The WSB marked a new era in the sport of boxing when it launched its first season on November 19, 2010. Since then the league has gone from strength to strength.”

Despite falling short of winning a medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Hield said he was pleased with his performance.

He fought in the welterweight division but lost out to Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan in the second round in what he called a “hometown” 30-27 decision.

Yeleussinov went on to secure the gold medal.

At the World Championships Hield said: “AIBA really made me who I am today because I’ve been to all the “Road to” training camps. Italy, Baku, Wales. And now I’m here. It’s helping me because I’m the only elite boxer in my country, so I don’t get decent sparring at home, and the training facilities are really bad so thanks to the AIBA Road to Dream programme, I was able to come here two weeks before, get good time with other boxers and get a good training programme.”

Although he missed out on the opportunity to get into the medal round, Hield said he was pleased with the fact that he will be able to improve on his international ranking .

“This is all about your team. You have to go out there and compete in a team format,” said Hield. “You have to be able to do your part to help your team win.”

He is the country’s top amateur boxer left after Valentino Knowles and Taureano ‘Reno’ Johnson moved into the professional ranks.

“I just need some more competition,” he said. “I think if I can get a corporate sponsor who is willing to help me to get to the meets to compete, they don’t have to give me any money, I feel I can get better and be in a better position to contend for the top spots when I travel to these international meets.”