When the world rankings for amateur boxers were released and president of the local governing body in the country, Wellington Miller received an official copy of the listing, he was not surprised to see the names of Valentino Knowles and Carl Hield among the names of the top boxers in the world.
Knowles and Hield are considered to be the two top amateur boxers in The Bahamas. Both have been the flag bearers at numerous championships and games and their exceptional performances at these events earned them places in the rankings.
"This is a great day for us in the sport of boxing," said Miller. "They are going over there (to the World Boxing Championships) with a high ranking. And when you check through the list, and you see the number of boxers from big countries who they are ahead of, it says a lot for our program. We are right up there with the world, and we appreciate what they are doing. We always ran and had good programs. Before them we had (boxers like) Taureano (Johnson) now it's their turn."
The rankings, which were released less than two weeks before the start of the World Boxing Championships, are calculated based on competition over the past two years. Knowles, who competes in the 64 kg is ranked 25th in the world and fourth in the Caribbean. He has scored 450 points in the last two years.
Fellow countryman Hield is 37th in his weight class (69 kg) in the world.

A 5th place in the Caribbean.
Top boxer in the 64 kg is Cuba's Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo.
He has 2,000 points having won the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 AMBC title, last year. Imre Balazs Bacskai of Hungary leads the 69 kg division with 890 points. Bacskai placed 10 at the 2009 AIBA World Championships and won the EUBC Championships in 2010, but finished 12 in 2011. All two of the divisional leaders will compete at the World Boxing Championships, where they will be challenged by Knowles and Hield.
Miller added: "These championships are also an elimination for the Olympic Games. We are hoping that they can qualify there and come back home with a medal. We know that they are going to make The Bahamas and themselves proud.
"These ratings go all over the world, so they are helping to promote The Bahamas. So it is good for us and it is good for The Bahamas. We are once again benefiting from these boxers."
Knowles and Hield will leave for training camp on Friday. This year's camp will be held for 10 days, right before the start of the championships.

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