SPORTS SECTION E
Monday, March 2, 2026
VJ EDGECOMBE - Page E3
‘King Flashy’ wins title with fourth round TKO By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
CARL “King Flashy” Hield pounded Carlos Jimenez from Venezuela into a fourth round technical knockout for the vacant World Boxing Council's FECARBOX super welterweight title at Club Paradise in Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia, on Saturday night. In remaining undefeated at 15-0 in the FedeCaribe gold round, the 39-year-old Hield gets to keep his World Boxing Association's Caribe and Caribbean crowns and it sets him up for a possible world title shot in the future. "I just want to give God thanks for the strength and the opportunity to fight for another title," said Hield, who dedicated his fight to his deceased mother Norma Hield, who he considers his number one fan. "It was a tough fight, but like I normally do, I just go in there and perform to carry out the job that we did in training camp to get the win." At the end of the third round, Hield unleashed a flurry of punches in the last 10 seconds of the third on Jimenez who refused to answer the bell to start the fourth round. Hield was awarded the fourth round TKO as the 40-year-old Jimenez fell to 15-10. "He didn't want any more. No mas," Hield uttered. "I was surprised
Carl Hield, 39, stays undefeated at 15-0 that he didn't come out because he's a tough fighter." With three belts around his waist, Hield said this is just a stepping stone for him to get to the world title. He said he really appreciated the crowd who after the first round was chanting "Bahamas, Bahamas. They showed me love down there." Ronn Rodgers, Hield's Bahamian manager, said it's a good step in the right direction and, if he can secure another top notch fight, he could be looking at a world title fight next year or the end of this year. "He now has the diamond round to go for, if not, we will wait for any call outs because a lot of people are retiring now, including Terrance Crawford, who has given up his belt," Rodgers said. "So right now, there are a lot of vacant belts and so we're going to keep our ears to the ground and try to do some call outs. But winning this belt puts us in that step towards a world title. We want to try and get one of these belts that are now vacant." Hield, who was accompanied by his coaches Fred William Benitez from Colombia and Francisco Tineo from Venezuela, said he will take a week's break to recuperate before he heads back into the ring to resume his training. "You
TITLE WIN: Professional boxer Carl Hield, second from left, being interviewed after his victory. have to stay ready because you never know when the next fight will come up," said Hield. Rodgers, the manager/ coach of the Strikers Boxing Club, said the performance could have been better, but attributed it to the high altitude. "He was a little slower than he should have been. His opponent was a little bigger than him on fight night," Rodgers
said. "At the weigh-in, he came in under 160 pounds, but he probably put on some pounds because he was about 180 in the fight. "He was a little more adapted to the environment than Carl, but Carl was able to stay focused and he went to the body as his opponent was busy trying to protect his head. “He won the fight with a fourth round TKO."
With Hield clinching the first green belt for the Strikers Boxing Club, Rodgers said he has Rashield “Raw” Williams, Devon Hamilton and Amron Sands, who are next in line for a WBC title. While Rodgers is looking at both Williams and Sands fighting for their title shots this year, he's expecting Hamilton to get his shot next year. Hield expressed his gratitude to
his wife Carlina Hield for taking care of their children - Coarlina and Carolina Hield and Irina Chacon in his absence during the training camp to prepare for the fight. He also thanked his sponsors, including Production Gurus, Rigger242, Strikers Boxing Gym and the West End Construction and Repairs for partnering with him on his journey.
Team Bahamas suffers 71-66 loss to Puerto Rico in FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifier By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribnemedia.net THE Bahamas men's national basketball team, with the addition of Kai Jones, put up a gallant effort but it wasn't enough to prevail against Puerto Rico in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifier. Puerto Rico led from start to finish as they held off Team Bahamas 71-66 yesterday at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente Arena in Puerto Rico. It was Puerto Rico's first win in their four games played so far in the Group B of the first round of the qualification. The win pushed Puerto Rico into a two-way tie with The Bahamas in third place. Team Bahamas head coach Moses Johnson Jr, who was assisted by Mitchell Thompson and Addison Walters, had 10 players in uniform to work with. "The effort was there, but it was obvious that we had some tired legs," Johnson Jr said. "In the first half, we executed, but we just didn't hit our shots. The shots started to fall late when we made a 6-0 run, but the floor got a little slippery and both Kai and Franco slipped down. That really turned the tide. The shots that fell against Jamaica, we didn't get them to go here in Puerto Rico." Puerto Rico jumped out to a 22-11 first quarter lead that they maintained at the
THE Bahamas men’s national basketball team yesterday suffered a loss to Puerto Rico in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifier. half with a 39-30 advantage. By the end of the third, Puerto Rico pushed ahead 58-47. But Team Bahamas made their final run in the fourth as they outscored Puerto Rico 22-13 to get back into the game, but it was a little too late. Jones, who joined the team after missing Thursday's first game against Jamaica on this trip in the home-and-away series, joined Franco Miller Jr in leading the attack for Team Bahamas with 19 points. Jones shot 8-of-11 from the field, 1-for-1 from the three-point arc and 2-for-4 from the free throw line in 29 minutes and 20 seconds. He also had nine rebounds, three assists, two block shots and a steal.
Miller Jr, the top scorer in Team Bahamas' 99-96 victory over Jamaica on Thursday night, played 37:36 minutes and produced 19 points and 6-for-22 from the field, 4-for-15 from three-point and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. He also had eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Isaiah Mobley was the only other player in double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds. Garvin Clarke had five points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal and Samuel Hunter also had five points with three rebounds. Ishmael Romero sparked Puerto Rico with a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
At the half, Mobley had the hot hands with eight points. Tavario Miller, who only had two points, was the top rebounder with six. Jones had seven points with five rebounds. Both Clarke and Miller Jr added five points with three rebounds. Miller also had three assists. Puerto Rico out-rebounded Team Bahamas 49-45 and had one more turnover (10-9) than Team Bahamas. Both teams had the same amount of personal fouls with 10. Puerto Rico’s biggest run came in the first quarter, a 12-0 burst from 6:00 to 3:25, turning a 5-6 deficit into a 17-6 lead through a collective team effort. The Bahamas answered with their most significant
run late in the fourth quarter, stringing together an 8-0 run from 2:03 to 0:52, cutting the gap from 69-58 to 69-66, with Franco Miller contributing six points and one rebound during that stretch. Puerto Rico’s largest lead was 15 points, reaching a 33-18 advantage with 3:55 left in the second quarter. The Bahamas’ biggest lead was 0-2 at 9:17 in the opening period. Puerto Rico maintained the largest margin throughout and ultimately sealed the win by five points. The Bahamas will take a break and get ready to complete round one when they take on Jamaica at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium on Friday, July 3, and Puerto
Rico on Monday, July 6, at the same venue. The Bahamas will need to finish in the top three in order to advance to the second round of the tournament, so Johnson Jr said the final two games at home against Jamaica and Puerto Rico are going to be critical. "We will have to beat both of them for us to advance to the second round," coach Johnson Jr said. "When we play our brand of basketball and we execute, we are unstoppable. "But it's all about staying together and staying within our scheme and our concept and we will be fine. We can beat any team out there. We just have to beat them two teams in the summer."