Hield, Williams head to Serbia

The Bahamas Amateur Boxing Federation (BBF) has ratified a two-man team for the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) Men’s World Boxing Championships, set to be held at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia, from October 24 to November 6.

Representing The Bahamas will be veteran junior middleweight boxer Carl Hield and welterweight boxer Rashield Williams. Accompanying the two boxers will be Olympian Nathaniel Knowles as the head coach. Shirley Strachan is the COVID-19 Ambassador, and BBF President Vincent Strachan will serve as the team manager. Vincette Strachan with be the president’s guest.

The delegation leaves today for Serbia. They will transit through Miami, Florida and Zurich, Switzerland.

The president is confident that the two boxers will perform well, expecting them to win medals in their respective weight classes.

“I expect those two boxers to win medals because they were working hard, extremely hard, training hard for the past two years or more. In fact, Williams just came from a first-round knockout in a match in Tampa, Florida. Hield also came off a recent victory in Tampa. They are mentally and physically ready. There’s no doubt about it. We’re looking forward to winning medals,” Strachan said.

Both boxers have been training in the United States of America.

According to Strachan, AIBA will be paying the podium finishers in the weight classes for the first time. The gold medalists will receive $100,000 each. The silver medalists will receive $50,000 each and the bronze medalists are set to receive $25,000 each.

The event is open to both amateurs and professional boxers who have fought less than 15 bouts. Williams has only fought five pro fights and was eligible for this event. It is a great incentive for the boxers to work even harder now that monetary prize is being offered.

The event drew just under 400 boxers who will compete in 13 weight divisions.

Strachan said that AIBA was able to secure the team’s airline tickets and hotel accommodation, though he is still looking for more funds to supplement the trip.

“These games require money,” Strachan stated. “You have to take a PCR test to go and even when it’s leading up to the event, you have to do another PCR test and several other COVID tests in between. Just the tests alone will probably run us close to $2,000, but that doesn’t include other expenses that you would incur such as staying overnight. We have to pay for all those as well.

“We are trying to get more money right now. I’ve been in contact with the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture and I’m hoping that he comes through for us. We will be happy to accept donations from anyone who’s going to help us in this regard. Right now we’re in need of about $12,000. That is the challenge we face right now.”

With both Hield and Williams training in the US, Strachan said it has been difficult to prepare them to travel.

“It’s extremely difficult. The preparation has been one of the most difficult aspects and it becomes extremely expensive because our boxers have to live in the US in order to train,” Strachan said. “We don’t have the proper training facilities here. They don’t have the proper equipment so they can properly prepare themselves. We don’t have the proper sparring partners for them, so they have to continue to live in the US and that has become an extreme burden on them and also us.

“Now that COVID is a part of us that makes it even more challenging. There are more restrictions and even with the restrictions comes additional costs and expenses, and so it’s not easy. It’s not as easy as it used to be.”

Strachan is asking for the country’s support for Hield and Williams as they go off the represent The Bahamas at the world championships.

This is the second time that the event is being held in Belgrade.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/hield-williams-head-to-serbia/