The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RASHIELD Williams, Carl Hield and Kieshno Major are off to Tijuana, Mexico for the final qualifying trials for the Pan American Games.

The trio is scheduled to leave town today with coaches Andre Seymour and Valentino Knowles and will compete June 4-9 with the hopes of booking their ticket to the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, July 10-26 as the boxers begin a series of international meets leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“We are going to be competing against the best of the best in this part of the region,” Seymour said. “We’ve been there before. The last time we went to the Pan American Games, Valentino Knowles got a silver. Now we are going to try and qualify for the Pan Am Games again. I’m looking for all three of our boxers qualifying.”

Seymour said both Williams and Hield will have to finish in the top six in their respective weight class, while Major will have to be in the top five.

“It’s going to be rough, but we will be ready,” Seymour said. “We’re ready, but like I told them, they can’t take it easy. I’m confident that we will qualify for the Pan Am Games. Immediately after the Pan Am Games, we have to go to the Continental Championships in Venezuela in August where we have to qualify for the World Championships in October.

“Before time, we could have just taken boxers to the World Championships. You can’t do that anymore. You have to qualify. So immediately after the Pan American Games, we will go to Venezuela. From there, if we qualify for the World Championships, we will have the first chance to qualify for the Olympics. The World Championships is in October.”

All of the countries in this region will be sending boxers to Mexico, including the United States of America and Cuba, both of which already have qualifiers for the Pan Am Games.

Knowles, the former amateur star now moving into the coaching ranks after he quit his professional career after a near death shooting incident, said he’s been working directly with the three boxers in session at 5am, 10am and 5pm daily and he has been impressed with what he has seen.

“Being a Pan Am silver medallist, I feel it’s a great opportunity to travel with the team to Mexico,” said Knowles, who currently heads the National Boxing Gym at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex. “I feel with my experience, I can take them to the next level. From what I’ve seen here in all of them, I think they have the tools to go ahead and get the job done.”

Williams, 25, will compete in the 64 kilogram class (141 pounds)

“My preparation has been great. I’ve put in a lot of work under Valentino Knowles and Andre Seymour,” Williams said. “I’ve worked on sparring, so I feel confident that I will be able to do very well. I want to go there to qualify for the Pan Am Games. I’m ready. I can’t wait to get into the ring.”

After falling short in his debut at the Commonwealth Games last year in Glasgow, Scotland, where he failed to advance out of the first round, Williams said he knows the competition will be intense, but he expects to be ready.

“In past fights, I was more relaxed, but when I have to change because of the new scoring system that they are using,” Williams said. “I know I will be fighting against some tough guys, so all I have to do is go into the ring and throw a lot of punches and hopefully I can win.”

Hield, 27, will compete in the 69 kilogram class (152 lbs)

As the most experienced member of the team, Hield wants to lead by example.

“First of all, I want to give God thanks for giving me another opportunity to go off to represent my country,” said Hield, who fell one victory short of earning a medal in Glasgow. “I just came off a big training camp in Cuba where I was training the Colombia, Indonesia, Costa Rica and Trinidad, so I’m prepared. I just have to go out there and get the ticket (for the Pan Am Games) now.”

Prior to returning to Cuba to train, Hield was invited by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) to travel to compete in the World Series of Boxing for Team Mexico held earlier in the year.

“My preparation has been very good. I’m looking to go on Air Canada. That is my goal,” said Hield about qualifying tor the Pan Am Games. “Having a former teammate and athlete like Valentino as my coach is going to help me even more. He’s been there, I’ve been there and so I think he will be able to help me more in my corner.”

Hield said it’s going to be important for him and his teammates to be ready to fight from round one. You have to be smart, go out there and fight your fight. Hit and don’t get hit,” Hield said. “You have to win the first two rounds. Once you win the first two rounds, you then can go out there and do what you have to do because they are now using a 10-9 scoring system. If you win the first two rounds, you basically win the fight. For them to win the fight in the last round, they will have to knock you out and that is going to be hard.”

Looking at the team, Hield said he’s confident that they can secure three Air Canada tickets to the Pan Am Games.

Major, 37, will compete in the 91 kilogram class (201 lbs)

As the super heavyweight on the team, Major intends to capitalise on the intense month of training that he has endured under Knowles and Seymour since he returned home from competing in the Dominican Republic.

“This is a stiff level of competition, it’s the elite level,” Major said. “We will be competing against boxers from all around the world who take boxing seriously. So we also have to take our job serious as boxers and we can’t go into the ring and play boxing.”

Also a member of the Commonwealth Games team last year, winning a round, Major said he knows that the competition will be stiff, but he’s up for the challenge.

“You have to be focused and try to outthink the boxer,” he said. “It’s not all about power, but it’s all about speed and thinking how you can out perform your opponent. I know I’m going to be ready. Coach Valentino Knowles has put in the work with me, but I have to give a shout out to coach Ronn Rodgers at Strikers Boxing Club for allowing his guys to get in some sparring with me.”