The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING 

Tribune Sports Reporter 

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN pro boxer Carl Hield saw his dreams come into fruition on Friday at the Gimnasio Yorby Mendoza at Boxing Night in Cartagena, Colombia.

Hield defeated Colombian Christian Bautista via knockout in the seventh round to leave the bout as the WBA Fedecaribe Super Welter champion. The latest victory helped the newly crowned title-holder to remain undefeated and improve to a 7-0-0 (win/ draw/loss record) in pro bouts.

The 37-year-old has always been passionate about wanting to vie for a chance at a world title. He talked about the tools needed to pull off the championship win.

“First of all, I want to give God thanks for giving me the strength and knowledge to be able to go in there and perform to be the WBA Fedecaribe Super Welterweight champion. Believing in God, going in there and just doing the things we did in training camp helped me to get the win. He was a very good fighter. I thought I was gonna get the stop- page earlier but it took me seven rounds to get the stoppage,” he said.

After battling against Bautista for six consecutive rounds, Hield exploited his opponent’s weakness en route to the title victory.

“I was just doing my normal style like we trained. We knew he was a fighter that came forward so I just kept moving, hitting and keeping my distance. As the rounds went on, I could see his conditioning wasn’t really there so with him missing the big blows in

the air he got tired. We figured it out in round five and instead of us boxing I went forward at him and, in the seventh round, he could not deal with the pressure I was putting on him and he just stopped,” he said.

The hometown favourite Bautista now owns a 6-3-0 record in nine pro bouts after falling to the Bahamian boxer.

The former Sugar Bert Boxing gold medallist has always dedicated his matchups to his late mother Norna Hield and, according to him, this win felt “very special.”

“This one is very special because I know she is in her grave right now jumping for me. This would’ve been an extra special moment if she was alive to be here. Doing it for her gave me extra motivation going into that fight and winning felt good,” he said.

Next up, Hield is looking forward to being in contention for a WBA Continental title and wants to put his title on the line at home when he gets the chance.

In addition to this, he wants to be ready for whenever the next opportunity comes knocking at his door.

“This is the start of a new beginning. I still have a long career ahead of me. I am just gonna enjoy this time, get back to the drawing board, focus on what’s next in the pros and amateurs, stay focused and stay ready for when the call comes,” he said.

He was grateful to all of his sponsors and supporters, including Rollin’ Tyre Imports (Trinidad and Tobago), West End Construction, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) along with the Bahamas Boxing Federation.