By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

VETERAN boxer Carl Hield followed up his successful pro debut with another victory, this time at the Fight Night in Santa Marta, Colombia.

He delivered a fifth loss to the more experienced Diomedes Miranda with a third-round technical knockout at the Coliseo de Pescaito David Ruiz Ureche on Wednesday night. It was the second match for the seasoned boxer since his transition to professional bouts and he was happy to see his hard work pay off.

“First of all I want to give God thanks for giving me the opportunity to come here, be healthy and able to put on a good performance against a tough rival with a good knockout. I am thankful that I got through the fight with the victory,” Hield said.

The Bahamian stepped into the ring against Miranda who had 21 wins along with 17 knockouts and only four losses coming into the super welterweight division match.

Although it was a more experienced opponent, Hield felt he had something to prove going into the match and talked about how he pulled off the TKO victory.

“I was just using my jabs, moving up and down, staying away from the big punches he was swinging in the first round to get me out quick. I did what I do best, which was hit and move. The body shots started to wear him down in the second round and then I hit him with two good body shots and he did not get back up,” he said.

The 36-year-old now has an unblemished 2-0-0 record with two knockout wins under his belt. The first came in his professional debut against Colombia’s Elkin Bolano at the International Knockout Night in Cartagena, Colombia in October. Hield pulled off a TKO in the second round of their pro boxing bout.

One of the decorated boxer’s main reasons for leaving the amateur ranks was to earn more experience ahead of next year’s Olympic qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. With another potential match in the cards for next week, he has appreciated every step of the journey so far.

“This journey has put me in a great position for the Olympic trials because if I did not decide to go pro I would have been just training until the qualifiers. I am just trying to stay as active as I could until next year,” he said.

He has faced lots of adversity in 2023, including the loss of a friend, his mother Norma Hield and not being selected to represent The Bahamas at the Pan American Games for the boxing discipline.

Despite the odds, Hield has found a silver lining in it all.

“For me after they made the decision not to send me to Pan Am I saw it as God’s plan working. It gave me a chance to get to the professional ranks because if they sent me to Pan Am, I would still be in the amateurs,

“Everything paid off on my end and it just gives me motivation to keep going everyday and be the best that I can be,” he said.

The Bahamian pro boxer’s end goal remains the same, trying to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games and working towards putting himself in a position to be in contention for a world title next year.

He maintains that his will and dedication to boxing is important and wants to do it all to honour his late mother.

He offered a special thanks to the Bahamas Boxing Federation and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.