By Carlos Kambaekwa
WINDHOEK
Rookie boxing promoter Dolph Shilunga wasted little time in the tough rigours of his recently chosen career and announced his arrival in no uncertain terms by throwing an unexpected jab at his seasoned counterpart Nestor Tobias.
Shilunga accused the well-known local boxing promoter of dragging his feet over a request by Dolph No Limit Boxing Promoters cc to give the thumbs up for the protracted National Welterweight title rematch between Namibian champion Bethuel “Tyson” Uushona and former Commonwealth Champion Paulus “Ali” Nuumbembe.
Nuumbembe expressed interest in slugging it out with his countryman in a desperate effort to wrestle the national Welterweight title away from Uushona, who convincingly beat the then United Kingdom based Nuumbembe in front of a partisan crowd at the Windhoek Country Club Resort and Casino in 2004.
Nuumbembe is now back in his native country and has since joined the stable of Nestor Tobias Boxing and Fitness Academy.
However, Tobias laughed off any talk of the two boxers trading blows again on Namibian soil.
“Ali does not need to fight Tyson at this juncture of his career, and it will just be pointless for him to fight any local boxer because he needs to fight highly-ranked opponents if he were to stake a serious claim for a world title bout.”
Shilunga rubbished these claims and said Tobias is just developing cold feet and was looking at all possible ways in the book of tricks to avoid a clash with Tyson because he anticipates a hiding second to none for his ageing boxer.
Should everything go according to schedule, Shilunga is determined to stage the eagerly awaited bout on March 29 2008 at the Safari Court in the capital, with no less than eight under cards on the menu.
Meanwhile, frustrated by the shoddy treatment meted out to him by the Namibia Amateur Boxing Association, former National Featherweight champion Samuel “the Hammer” Kapapu eventually threw in the towel and jumped ship to join the professional ranks.
The 24-year-old Kapapu took aim at the country’s boxing authorities for sidelining him and in the process stalling his promising boxing career. He claimed to have been constantly overlooked and grounded by the coaches whenever international participation was begging.
“I won gold at the national championships in Keetmanshoop last year, but was still not included in the travelling team that went to Algeria for the first leg of the Bejing Olympic Qualifiers for Africa, with no explanation offered as to why I was omitted from the list while I deserved to be in Algiers,” lamented the young boxer.
Kapapu has since turned professional and has joined the stable of Dolph No Limit Boxing Promoters cc under the wing of Shilunga. In the meantime, “The Hammer” has landed himself a personal sponsor and will now fight under the banner of Neo Paint which he hopes to unleash during his scheduled under card bout against Thomas Nakashimba at the yet to be confirmed clash of “Tyson” vs “Ali” on March 29.
“The Hammer” boasts a remarkable record of 32 wins and two defeats from 34 bouts under his belt in the amateur ranks while two of them failed to go the distance.