… Bring on Japanese Tomoki Kameda
WINDHOEK – It might sound like a tall order, but Namibia’s undefeated bantamweight boxer Immanuel ‘The Prince’ Naidjala will certainly not entertain any thoughts of losing when he takes another major step towards realizing his dream of having his name inscribed in the history books of professional boxing.
Naidjala, who’s the current International Boxing Federation (IBF) international bantamweight champion and also holds the WBO bantamweight African crown, will confront Japanese Tomoki Kameda for the WBO bantamweight world title in Japan on December 3.
WBO bantamweight incumbent champion Kameda, was initially billed to square off against Paulus Ambunda whom he outclassed for the world title but the Namibian former world champion was yesterday declared unfit to fight as a result of a nagging hand injury – a situation that propelled Kameda to choose ‘The Prince’ as his next opponent, given that Naidjala is currently ranked number 2 in the world by the WBO and is the current African bantanweight champion.
As for Naidjala, who now takes on a world class boxer such as Kameda in his own backyard, the fight will not only be about contesting for a world title but Naidjala will also be carrying the hopes of thousands of local boxing fans eager to see him become Namibia’s only 4th boxer to win a world title – emulating the feats previously achieved by Harry Simon, Paulus Moses and Paulus Ambunda.
Given Naidjala’s ‘never-surrender’ attitude and aggressive style of fighting, a real crackerjack affair can be expected between the two boxers as the Namibian boxing prospect will be faced with the odds of bringing the bantamweight world crown back home, a title Namibians enjoyed for a very short stint.
No Mercy Part 2 Boxing Bonanza on 6th December
Come December 6, local boxing enthusiasts will be in for a real fiesta when the MTC Nestor Sunshine Tobias Boxing & Fitness Academy hosts the No Mercy Part 2 Boxing Bonanza at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino.
Topping the bill on that night will be the country’s crème de la crème of boxing as the menu features no less than three title fights. Wilberforce ‘Black Mamba’ Shihepo will be the main headline of the night when he trades blows with Daniel Wanyonyi from Kenya for the WBO Africa super middleweight title, over 12 rounds.
Shihepo will be out to reclaim the WBO Africa super middleweight title he lost following his defeat against Arthur Abraham from Germany during their vacant WBO inter-continental super middleweight title bout.
Also in action, Sackey ‘Izinyoka’ Shikukutu will defend his WBO interim welterweight title against Sherif Kasongo from DR Congo, while Martin ‘Black Poison’ Haikali will also be in the firing line when he takes on compatriot Peter ‘The Butcher’ Malakia fro the WBO lightweight title, over 12 rounds of what promises to be a heated encounter.
By Otniel Hembapu