The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

CARL “Flashy King” Hield, a man on a mission, exploded for a second round victory to successfully defend his pair of titles on Saturday night at the Coliseo Menor de Villa Olimpica en Santa Marta, Colombia.

The 39-year-old Hield stopped Jose Luis Prieto of Colombia for his sixth victory for the year to remain undefeated in his professional career at 14-0. 

In defending his World Boxing Association's FedeCaribe and National Boxing Association's super welterweight titles, Hield dropped  40-year-old Prieto to 28-17.

In dedicating the fight to his deceased mother, Norma Hield, Hield thanked God, his sponsors Production Guru, Rigger242, R&P Sports Management, Rolling Type Importanters Limited and Strikers Boxing Club, and all of his supporters for their support.

"We knew this was going to be a tough opponent. We studied him, but just looking at the first round, I felt I could have gotten him out earlier," Hield said.

"So I just started to use more of my distance and cut the ring off. A little bit into the second round, I was able to get the knockout with the uppercut to the head. "I wasn't expecting it, but it just came off with the punches. It was two body shots. When he was going down, the uppercut came at the same time and that was it."

Hield said he really wanted to fight for the World Boxing Council's super middleweight title fight at home, but things didn't materialise.

"I'm looking to have my US debut next year to fight for the WBC title, but I guess it's just good to finish the year undefeated and to be able to look forward to the big fights to get put on next year."

Hield, who is scheduled to return home today, said he will be right back in the gym training because he has to stay ready in the event that he gets a phone call for a fight. "I will celebrate in the gym. No days off," Hield stressed. "Professional is different from amateurs. With the amateurs, you don't know if you are going to a competition or not. So you don't have to train so hard. "But with the professional ranks, you have to be training at all times to be prepared because you never know when you will get that phone call that could come to change your life with a big fight. You have to stay ready."

Hield said once he gets home, he will relax for a day or two, spending some time with his family and then talk to his management team about what's next. "I only fought two rounds so when I get back into the gym, I will be working on things that I didn't get to do or I didn't do right in the two rounds," Hield said. "The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds, but I got a special knockout in the second round."

Hield asked the Bahamian public to stay tuned because he plans on electrifying the boxing world by winning a "world title" very soon. If he does, he will become only the second Bahamian to do so.

Everette 'Elisha Obed' Ferguson still holds that distinction, having won the WBC's light middleweight title over Miguel de Oliveira in 1975 in Paris, France, before he defended it twice, eventually losing it a year later to Germany's Eckhard Dagge in 1976.