The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Carl Hield’s appearance at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, is over.

On Sunday, Hield gave it his best shot but suffered a 30-27 hometown decision to fourth seed Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan in the 69 kilo-class division.

“First of all, I want to give God thanks,” Hield told The Tribune. “The fight was a good fight. I gave it my best, but you know how hometown fights go. You have to knock the fighter out to get the decision.

“I think if I didn’t have to fight him, I would have gotten a medal. But I am thankful to God and to all of the people who believed in the 242 boxing like my mother, Carla and sister, Norman. I love you all. I did my best.”

Hield, who dominated his first round match 3:0 over Lewis Benson of Scotland on Wednesday, said his bout against Yeleussinov was much closer than anticipated.

“I went in there and I gave it my all,” he said.

If there was anything that he felt he could have done differently in the fight, it would have been to “knock him out.”

With the fight behind him, Hield, the lone Bahamian to compete in the tournament, said he will use this as a learning experience.

“This just brings me one step closer to winning a medal for the 242,” he said. “I think if I was in the next group, I was going to win a medal. I just didn’t have the chance competing against the hometown favourite.”

Hield, the last of the elite senior boxers still in the amateur programme (after Olympian Taureano ‘Reno’ Johnson and Valentino Knowles all moved up to the professional ranks), said his goal is to continue on his quest to be “the first boxer to win a big international medal for the Bahamas.”

While he has fallen short of his goal at the tournament that comes to a close on October 28, Hield will be making some history next month when he will be the first English-speaking boxer to get invited to compete in the WSB in Mexico.

“I just learned that I was selected to compete in the tournament,” said Hield, who will be leaving on November 5 to compete for Mexico. “It’s an All-Star tournament. They are selecting two boxers to compete for a country if your country is not in it. I will be competing on Mexico’s team.”

Hield, who trains out of Havana, Cuba, is expected home on October 27 before he prepares for the trip to Mexico.