The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BIRMINGHAM, England: Before he could get started in his fifth appearance at the Commonwealth Games, Carl Hield was done. His opening match on Saturday at the NEC Hall didn’t last past the first round.

The 35-year-old Hield, looking to improve on his bronze medal win in 2010 in Delhi, India, was stopped in the first round in his light middleweight bout at 67-71 kilogrammes by Nigeria’s 26-year-old Abdul-Afeez Osoba on Saturday at the NEC Hall.

Just like that, one half of the Bahamian boxing team is done.

“The fight was alright at the beginning. I was landing more punches. You could see that he was missing. If he hit, he was hitting my hand,” said Hield of what transpired. “The first hit I got, when I dropped, he came off the rope and hit me and the referee told me to stop turning around.”

Again Osoba continued the assault as he went after Hield. When he got him for the second time, Hield turned and his feet got caught on the ropes. As he regained his footing, Osoba again kept the pressure on.

This time, after he got hit from Hield, Osoba countered with a right to Hield’s face that dazed him as the referee stepped in. The ring doctor was called and the fight was subsequently stopped, much to the displeasure of Hield.

“I should have gotten a caution first and then an eight count,” Hield stated. “It wasn’t like I was on the ground and out of it or I was wobbling all over the place. They just stopped the fight. I’m just disappointed. If you look at the fight, I was winning the fight.”

It was Hield’s first stoppage in any of his global fights since he’s been representing the Bahamas. Despite his loss, Hield was comforted after the fight by fans who came over to either shake his hand, seek an autograph or take a photo with him.

Vincent Strachan, president of the Bahamas Amateur Boxing Federation, said while it was a disappointing loss for Hield, his opponent made the difference.

“Carl was in good shape. He was training for the past three months in the United States,” Strachan said. “But in boxing, one clean shot could end your night and that was what was Carl’s situation, one shot.

“I’ve seen the best get stopped in one round. It doesn’t mean that it’s the end of your career. There’s always an opponent to come back. He didn’t win the fight and he didn’t go the distance, but I still salute him for what he did out there today.”

On Sunday, the other member of the Bahamas’ boxing team, Rashield Williams, is expected to fight Jonas Jonas of Namibia. But the 32-year-old Williams indicated on Saturday that he’s still having some problems making the weight after he was entered into the light welterweight division rather than his normal welterweight division.

Strachan, who submitted the entries, said Williams is preparing to fight and he anticipates that he will “do well”.