The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHEN Rashield Williams returns home on Thursday as the new National Boxing Association welterweight champion, Wellington Miller said he hopes the Bahamian professional boxer can go back to his training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with some help from the Bahamas Government.

The 34-year-old Williams captured the title on Saturday night at the Hilton Tampa Hotel when he took care of American Andres Vieras one minute and 20 seconds into the second round to improve his young professional record to 10-2.

Miller, also a former president of the Boxing Federation of the Bahamas, said the boxing fraternity is very proud of Williams, who is now fighting out of the Contenders Boxing Gym in Fort Lauderdale where he is being coached by Melvin Rivus and Steven Ray.

“This comes at a time when The Bahamas needs more young men to look up to and Rashield is one of them,” Strachan said. “I am hoping that the government can use him as a symbol of someone who came from nothing and was able to make something out of his situation.

“We remember when his mother, Yvonne Williams, died a few years ago and he was distraught, but because of boxing, we gathered around him and strengthened him and he was able to carry on his dream of being a world champion.”

On Thursday around 11.20am, Williams will be arriving on JetBlue from Fort Lauderdale. The boxing fraternity is expected to be on hand to welcome him before he’s escorted on a motorcade through the streets of New Providence, ending up at the National Boxing Gymnasium at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex.

The public is invited to come out and be a part of the celebrations.

According to Miller, it’s remarkable to see the achievement that Williams has made since his mother’s death.

He noted that the boxing fraternity stuck with him and assured him that if he kept his mind clear, he could make it.

“It was easy for him to stop and say ‘I ain’t going any further with this,’ but he stayed within his mind frame of what he wanted to accomplish. I thank God for the boxing fraternity who stayed with him.”

With the impact that sports bring to the country, Miller said it’s incumbent on the government to utilise persons like Williams, who hails from Port Howe, Cat Island, to send the message out to the young men that there’s more to joining the gangs and picking up the guns and killing one another.

“We can show them examples. We can say to them ‘see Rashield, he came from nothing, a poor family, but he’s now a boxing champion.’ He worked hard, he dedicated himself and he’s accomplishing his goals.”

While he’s home to celebrate his victory with the Bahamian people, Miller is calling on the government to give him some monetary incentives for his achievement as well as to allow him to go into some of the schools and talk to the young men and women about their future.

“This is just one step. We need more steps. We need corporate Bahamas to step forward and sponsor him so he can go on to become our next world champion,” Miller stressed.

“We will take him around town to meet other people because he’s a positive role model. He’s now on the world stage to promote The Bahamas. We’re looking forward to the Bahamas Government supporting him and corporate Bahamas sponsoring him to help him achieve his dreams. “That’s all he needs right now because he has a good management team and a good training team in Florida.

“He just needs a peace of mind with help from corporate Bahamas so that he can bring the world title back to the Bahamas,” stated Miller.