By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
As the lone ranger representing the Bahamas at the International Boxing Association’s World Boxing Championships, Carl Hield’s run didn’t last past his first bout.
Competing in the 67-71 kilogram or light middleweight division, Hield went down 5-0 on points in the split/majority decision to Boniface Manina of Kenya on Wednesday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“After three action-packed rounds, to his stunning surprise, his opponent was declared the winner,” said Boxing Federation president Vincent Strachan. “Being fully aware of the scoring process, I have no doubt that he should have won.”
Veteran Hield, making his third appearance at the championships, was originally scheduled to travel with Rashield Williams and Tyrone Oliver. But the federation removed Williams from the team because of disciplinary actions and Oliver was recently shot to death.
Hield said despite not having any other Bahamian travelling to support him, he patted himself on his back for having the ability to rise to the occasion and compete at such a high level considering all he went through. He was referring to the fact that his mother, who was his number one supporter, passed away at the beginning of the year and he had to rally himself in the gym to continue to fight in her memory.
“To be able to recover from that situation with my mom passing and to get myself ready to get back into the gym a month later to get ready for this tournament, I feel pretty good about myself,” Hield said.
However, he said without the support of God, he would not have been able to step into the ring and perform the way he did.
“I executed the way I should. I set up my game plan, but I didn’t get the decision,” Hield said. “I will just use the rest of my time here to prepare for the Central American and Caribbean Games in June so that I can get some sparring from the other boxers around the world.”
After the fight, Hield said he had an opportunity to lodge a protest, but because he didn’t have any other representative from the Bahamas, as a boxer, he was unable to do so. “I still feel happy that I was able to carry the flag,” Hield said. “I just have to prepare for the CAC Games and the Pan American Games. Hopefully I will be able to perform much better than I did here. I mean, I performed very well, but I just didn’t get the decision.”
As he looks ahead to the two other major tournaments on the horizon, Hield said he’s anticipating getting in some more matches so that he can be able to withstand any pressure that is applied to him in the ring at the major championships.
Hield will remain in Uzbekistan training until May 15.
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