By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN pro boxer Carl Hield finally has a chance at the coveted world title opportunity he has been waiting on since making his pro debut in boxing late last year. 

Hield will go blow-for-blow with Colombia’s Chrisitian Bautista in hopes of being crowned the new title holder of the World Boxing Association (WBA) Fedecaribe Super Welter Title on June 21 at the Boxing Night in Cartagena, Colombia.

Currently, the Bahamian pro boxer has a spotless 6-0-0 (win/loss/draw record) going into the featured bout. Meanwhile, Bautista, who is the hometown favourite, has a 6-2-0 record in eight bouts coming into the super welterweight title showdown.

The undefeated pro is prepared to do whatever he has to do to ensure that the championship title is around his waist at the end of the match. “First of all, I wanna give God thanks for giving me the opportunity to be fighting for a world title in the next 8 days. My last fight was an elimination match so that put me in the position to be able to fight for a world title. It is just another step forward in making my dreams come through. I am just gonna go in there and do what I gotta do to get the victory. I want to take the title, carry it home and not leave it here in Colombia,” Hield said.

It is no secret that Hield has openly expressed his desire to compete for and attain a World Title since his opening match in the pro ranks against Colombian Elkin Bolaño. 

Despite finally having his shot at becoming a champion, the 37-year-old acknowledged that the road leading up to Saturday, June 21 had its bumps along the way.

“My journey up to this point was hard but I had to keep faith in God and let him open the doors for me to get where I wanna go. I want to give thanks to the sponsors for covering some of the expenses to get to Colombia to help me be able to fight and get my rankings up,” he said.

The journey certainly had its ups and downs which included the Bahamian boxer coming up short against Israel’s Miroslav Kapuler at the 2024 World Olympic Boxing Qualification 2 in Bangkok, Thailand at the Huamark Indoor Stadium. Hield was defeated by Kapuler in three rounds via unanimous decision in the super welterweight division at the amateur level.

Although it did not go the way the 37-year-old pro boxer had hoped for, it did not deter him from another major goal of his.

“It didn’t go as planned but I went and gave it my all. I went out there and did what I had to do but it didn’t go my way so I kept preparing for the title fight. I trained with my old Cuban coach in a different country and I finished preparing with other boxers from other countries for this match,” he said.

Hield improved to 6-0-0 after he won via technical knockout in the second round against Colombian Fabian Morimon at the Round a Round Fitness Club in Santa Marta, Colombia back in March. It was his sixth consecutive pro win and he is surely riding a hot streak headed into his match against Bautista.

On the other side of the ring, Bautista returned from an almost two-year hiatus from boxing and defeated Colombian Nicolas Montoya via a technical knockout in the fourth round on March 15 in San Pedro de Uraba, Colombia.

The former Sugar Bert Boxing gold medallist is planning to use his recent winning streak along with Colombia’s crowd as fuel to power him to a title win.

The match is dedicated to his mother, the late Norma Hield. He thanked sponsors Rollin’ Tyre Imports (Trinidad and Tobago), West End Construction, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MOYSC) along with the Bahamas Boxing Federation for continued support.