The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

After waiting for nine months since he made his professional debut, Valentino Knowles is now gearing up to step back in the ring.

Knowles, who has been in Miami, Florida, training since his four-round unanimous decision over Alejandro Ochoa at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California, on January 25, will be moving up to compete in a six-round bout at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on November 12.

His opponent has not yet been named, but Knowles said he has been working out consistently and he’s eager to compete again.

“Although I haven’t had any fights, I stayed in shape, training and working out in the gym,” he said. “I have been taking advantage of my time over here to properly train. So I know I am in a good position to be able to fight when this fight comes up in three weeks.

“They haven’t gotten an opponent for me yet, but I’m not concerned about that because I have to face somebody. So I’m just going in with the frame of mind that I have to be ready to compete at the best of my ability. My goal is to win and continue my winning streak, so I am looking forward to the fight.”

Knowles, 25, is encouraging all Bahamians who are in the Florida area during that time to come to the Hard Rock Casino to watch him put on a show.

“I’ve been working very hard because I want to get back in the ring and finish off the year on the right foot,” he said. “If I win this fight, I could be back in the ring in about three weeks for my third fight. My management team is looking forward to getting me as many fights as they can so I can make up for the lost time.”

The lost time he’s referring to is the inactivity over the past nine months, which he attributes to the fact that he didn’t have a manager to negotiate on his behalf. He’s had that problem resolved and now Knowles said the plan is for him to continue to progress up the ladder.

“I started off with a four-round fight in January and even though I haven’t competed since, I’m getting a six-round fight for my second fight,” he said. “Usually, you have about two or three four rounds to get started, but I only had one and now I’m going up to six rounds in my second and third fights.

“Depending on how well I do, I will be moving up eight rounds early next year and once I get to that stage, the goal is to start working on getting me a championship title fight. So I have my work cut out for me, but I’m really looking forward to it because I haven’t had that many fights since I turned pro.”

Not having a chance to compete, Knowles said he could have easily returned home but he decided to stick with it.

“People think that I’m just over here enjoying myself, but I’m working very hard every day in the gym training,” he said. “I’ve left my family and will even be missing my daughter’s fifth birthday on Saturday. But that’s the price that I have to pay for success in the future.”

Now calling Miami his home away from home, Knowles said he’s not looking at the city any differently than the others he has visited during his amateur days.

“I’ve spent a lot of time training in Cuba and I have been to a lot of countries to compete in,” he said. “Miami is just like any other city. I live in the Bahamas. I’m just here to get some things done, so I remember that I have a job to do and I intend to take care of that.”

As the latest Bahamian to quit the amateur ranks to become a pro, Knowles said he has been watching the International Boxing Association (AIBA) World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan where he left Carl Hield to carry the Bahamian flag as the lone competitor.

Hield, 26, was hoping to become the first Bahamian to win a medal at the prestigious tournament, but he ran into fourth seed Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan in the 69 kilo-class division and he suffered a 30-27 loss in what he described as a “hometown decision.”

“I was really rooting for him to win that fight. I think if he had won, he would have definitely gone on to become the first Bahamian to win a medal at that tournament,” Knowles said. “I was the first Bahamian to win a bout at the tournament and he tied my record.

“But it’s always difficult to win when you are taking on a hometown boy. I believe that if he didn’t have to face the hometown boy, he would have still been in the tournament. But I am still proud of him. He went there by himself and he made the Bahamas very proud.”

Knowles, one of four Bahamians still actively competing on the pro circuit in the United States, said he’s now looking at making some more history for the Bahamas by becoming another pro boxing champion, joining the long list of competitors who have enjoyed a great deal of success in the past.