SPORTS SECTION E
Monday, January 26, 2026
MAKO WINS - Page E2
Victory served ‘Raw’
Pro boxer Rashield Williams wins by unanimous decision in Guyana By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
BAHAMIAN pro boxer Rashield “Raw” Williams and promoter ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd Seymour.
IT took a little longer than he expected but Rashield “Raw” Williams was happy to walk out of the Cliff Anderson Sports Arena in Georgetown, Guyana, with a unanimous decision on Saturday night. In the co-main event of the night of the Caribbean Boxing Organization’s show dubbed "The Final Showdown," Williams had to go the full eight rounds of their professional boxing match before he succeeded in securing the welterweight win over Jamaican Nico Yeyo. Known for his early knockout decisions, the 36-year-old Williams had to dig down deep to eventually secure the fight to push his win-loss record to 13-3 and hold onto his National Boxing Association title. Yeyo, 33, fell to 5-3.
"It was a good fight. The guy is a strong guy," said Williams, who came into the fight just a pound (147-146) over Yeyo during Friday's weigh-in session. "He was a tough opponent. He just stuck in there. I was just doing what I had to do. I had to box him and I came out with the victory." It was Williams' first fight since he returned home from the IBA Men's World Boxing Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in December where he joined Valentino Knowles and Carl Hield as the only Bahamian boxers to win a bout at the competition. Geddet Williams, a coach at the Sir Jack Hayward High School in Grand Bahama, also made history as the first Bahamian female coach in the corner for Williams, who eventually got eliminated in the second round. Williams thanked Champion Spirit for the training session he had before he
left town for the fight. During the fight, he had fellow Bahamian "Pretty Boy'" Floyd Seymour in his corner. Seymour, who was a part of the CBO along with Jermaine Gibson from Grand Bahama, said he couldn't ask for a more sensational performance from Williams. "His performance was excellent. He was good. His endurance was incredible. He didn't have a let down in the entire fight," Seymour said. "He started to get mad at me because I wanted him to sit down. But he was just so eager to go after his opponent." Seymour, a former boxer turned coach and promoter in Washington, DC, said in scouting Yeyo, they knew they would have a tough fight on their hands. "After the first round, Rashield said he wanted to play around with him and try to discourage him,"
BOXING - SEE Page E3
Athletes book their tickets to CARIFTA Games, and the World Athletics’ Under-20 Championships By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net GRAND Bahamian speedster Keyezra Thomas joined Zion Davis, Alexis Roberts, Janae Johnson and Brion Ward in booking their tickets for both the CARIFTA Games and the World Athletics’ 2026 World Under-20 Championships. Competing at the 23rd Baker/Greco Star Performers Track and Field Classic on Saturday at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium, Thomas' feat came in the 200/400 combo, Davis got his mark in the 400/400m hurdles, Roberts came through in the 200m and Johnson and Ward provided a 1-2 punch in the under-17 girls’ 100m. Grand Bahamian Zion Bradford, along with Devon Davis, J'Keiyah Rolle, Everette Frazer, Aiden Musgrove, Ky'Len Johnson and Kamera Strachan were also CARIFTA qualifiers as the competition intensified with a number of Grand Bahamian athletes in town to compete. Thomas, of Speed Beginners, emerged as one of two CARIFTA qualifiers in the under-17 girls’ 200m, winning in 23.74 to surpass the
CARIFTA standard of 24.65 and the World Under20 time of 24.35. The 21st edition of the Under-20 Championships is scheduled for August 5-9 at the Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and the 53rd CARIFTA Games will be in Grenada, April 4-6. DTSP Wolfpack's Brion Ward joined Thomas in dipping under the CARIFTA standard of 24.65 with her second place finish in 24.49. And in the 400m, Thomas ran a sizzling time of 53.63 to also surpass the CARIFTA standard of 56.27 and the World Under-20 time of 55.20. "It feels amazing, knowing that I was able to execute my race plans today, which was all I was focusing on," said Thomas, who is only 16 years old and in 10th grade. "I just want to thank God for bringing me through another season and for allowing me to qualify this early in the season." Coming off her bronze medal at CARIFTA in Trinidad & Tobago, Thomas said she would like nothing better than to improve on what she did last year and make her parents and family proud. And in the girls’ under17 100m, Jazae Johnson
SHAUNAE MILLER-UIBO
KEYEZRA Thomas leading the under-17 girls’ 200 metres.
Photo: Patrick Hanna/BIS
of Leap of Faith ran 11.60, followed by Brion Ward of DTSP Wolfpack in 11.77 as they both surpassed the CARIFTA standard of 12.08 and the World Under20 time of 11.78. Roberts of Team Roberts emerged as the first of two qualifiers in the under-20 girls’ 200m in 24.12. The
standard was 24.40 with Deryn Rodgers of Star Elite also qualifying with 24.30. With her performance, Roberts also surpassed the World Under-23 qualifying time of 24.35. "Going into the race, I knew that the heat was filled with some of the top junior athletes, so I
knew I couldn't come out softened up. I just got out and I saw Deryn on my side, so I had to take it home as strongly as I could," Roberts said. Now that she's qualified for two major meets, the 18-year-old SAC 12th grader said the work has just begun.
"I can't get too excited now. This is just the beginning," she insisted. "So I'm just going to go back to the lab and practice and get faster so, by the time I go to CARIFTA and World Juniors, I could medal."
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
Center Invitational and Multi-Event in Miller-Uibo, representing Adidas, clocked 36.07 seconds to shatter the 2025 facility record of 36.77 that was established by American Talitha Diggs, who also competes for Adidas. Gabby Scott, competing for JOMA, was second in 37.77 and Beyonce Defreitas of Empire Athletics came in third in 38.17. Miller-Uibo, 31, moved ahead of Bahamian
20-year-old collegian Quincy Penn, who ran a personal best of 38.86 for a second place in a Florida Gators sweep of the 300m at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, last weekend. Miller-Uibo, who gave birth to her second child last year after her dismal performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, still has the world's fastest time in the event at 34.41 that she ran in Ostrava
in 2019. However, the event is contested at the World Indoor Championships. Married to Estonia's Olympic decathlete Maicel Uibo in 2017, the 31-year-old is a two-time Olympic 400m gold medallist in 2016 and 2020 and the 2022 World champion. But she didn't fare too well in her last public outing at the 2024 Olympics where she failed to make it to the
CARIFTA - SEE Page E8
Shaunae Miller-Uibo returns, Devynne Charlton opens her season AFTER giving birth to her second child, Shaunae Miller-Uibo made a spectacular return to the track, while Devynne Charlton had a great season opener over the weekend to lead the Bahamians in action at various meets in the United States. At the Alachua County Sports and Event
TRACK - SEE Page E3