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In the minutes following his pro boxing debut -- a unanimous four-round decision over Ron Cabili of Chicago Saturday night at Heinz Field -- Caraballo was surrounded by well-wishers, family and friends and a few autograph seekers.

Drinking it all in, Caraballo couldn't stop smiling.

"This was my dream," he said. "And it came true."

The Sharpsburg fighter hopes Saturday's bout will be the start of a promising pro career.

"(Caraballo) has a bright future," said his trainer, Ted Chernoff. "He has a great amount of talent -- he hits hard, he hits fast, and he's in great shape. All he needs is experience."

Caraballo, who grew up with Paul Spadafora in McKees Rocks, built a 40-4 record in eight years as an amateur. He trains with Chernoff at the Boyce Athletic Club in Plum.

He had been trying to secure his first pro fight and was thrilled to get a spot on Saturday's card.

The Iron City Pro Boxing "Steel Heat" card was the first professional boxing show at Heinz Field and the first pro fight held outdoors in Pittsburgh since Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott fought at Forbes Field in 1951.

In the evening's feature bout, Rayco "War" Saunders won a majority decision over James "Hurricane" Walton to capture the North American Boxing Council's world cruiserweight championship belt.

After two exhibition bouts, Caraballo and Cabili squared off in the event's first pro bout, a junior welterweight (140 pounds) match.

Caraballo had a slight height advantage over Cabili (2-2), who aggressively charged his opponent throughout the fight.

"This was the fight I wanted from the beginning," Caraballo said. "He was a former Golden Gloves champ out of Pittsburgh, and he's a tough guy. He fought a real professional fight.

"I just wanted to out-box him."

Chernoff said they liked the matchup, because Cabili presented a challenge for his fighter.

"(Cabili) has had four pro fights, and he's a very tough guy," Chernoff said. "He's so unorthodox. He throws wild punches from all angles."

Caraballo spent much of the fight fending off charges by Cabili and taking shots whenever he could, landing several solid punches and combinations that seemed to shake his opponent.

"I definitely felt like I was the stronger puncher," Caraballo said. "I felt I hurt him with all of my punches."

At the bell for the end of the second round, Cabili landed a late punch and also took several shots at the back of Caraballo's head during the match.

Twice in the third round, he attempted to grab Caraballo and pick him up off his feet. At one point, he bumped Caraballo and knocked him to the canvas, which wasn't scored as a knockdown.

Caraballo shook off Cabili's tactics.

"I just stayed focused, stayed calm and fought my fight," he said.

Caraballo's backers made up a large portion of the crowd of more than 1,000, and they cheered his every punch.

"We had people from the west side, the east side, the north side and the south side," Caraballo said. "I'd like to thank all the loyal fans who came to Heinz Field tonight."

Now that he's made a successful pro debut, Caraballo wants to continue gaining experience as a pro fighter. He anticipates having his next fight in September, maybe back at Heinz Field

"Iron City is supposed to have three more shows, and we want to be in all of them," Chernoff said. "(Caraballo) has a lot of potential. If he keeps progressing, he can be a 10-round fighter."

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