Staff Reporter
Windhoek-Fresh from a superb 5th round stoppage victory over Ghanaian boxer Obodai Sai last Friday, Namibia’s WBO/IBF Africa middleweight king Walter ‘The Executioner’ Kautondokwa has his eyes firmly set on the big stage, and is this time targeting British undefeated pugilist Billy Joe Saunders as his next potential victim.
Last Friday, Kautondokwa heavily relied on his tremendous power as he delivered a masterpiece to brush aside Ghana’s Sai via a 5th round technical knockout and was soon heard beating the war drums calling out for British boxing sensation Saunders, who holds the WBO world middleweight crown.
“Saunders has an impressive record of 24 fights and is undefeated, which speaks well of his pedigree. He has only defended his title once, and I think he needs a credible and powerful opponent like myself if he is to prove his worth,” said Kautondokwa in an interview with BoxingScene.com, one of the world’s leading boxing websites.
Kautondokwa further verbally jabbed: “Despite the respect I have for Saunders, I can face him anytime, anywhere. I do not just think I am ready to face him, but I know so. He has done well to become a champion, but I don’t think he has faced an opponent like me before.”
Saunders is scheduled to defend his WBO world title for the second time this September and the only logical path for the Briton would be to defend it against one of the WBO top-rated fighters.
Names of potential challengers arose in the last couple of weeks but there is no opponent announced for the September fight as of yet.
If one checks the record of Kautondokwa (15-0, 14 KO’s), it looks so thin he seems to be a prospect at best without any major experience against tougher opposition, but one would also be well advised not to read too much into the numbers but rather look beyond them to see the full picture of the unbeaten African warrior.
The powerful Namibian is a rangy fighter with decent footwork. He is considered probably the biggest puncher among African fighters with cracking power in both hands. And above all, he believes in his skills and is confident of winning a potential world title bout with Saunders.
“Look, this is how it will go down: at the end of the fight, if the bout anyhow goes the distance, Walter Kautondokwa will be the new WBO middleweight world champion, because he has the power and durability to finish off Saunders. I am not bragging when I say this, but I know I can beat Saunders and if the fight were to happen, he must be prepared to give up his championship status,” further cautioned the boastful undefeated Namibian.
His manager/promoter Nestor Tobias is also confident about his fighter’s chances in a bout against Saunders. The businessman is best known for building fellow Namibian Julius Indongo from unheralded prospect to WBA/IBF/IBO unified super lightweight champion in less than four months this year.
When Tobias considers one of his athletes ready to go for a title, the fighter is more than ready to rise to the occasion.
”I have always said that Walter is our best-kept secret in the middleweight division, and the world will be excited to see him on the international scene. The boy is big, very fit and has incredible power, arguably one of the hardest hitting boxers in the middleweight division in the whole world. We have literally run out of opponents for him in Africa and it is now time for him to conquer the world and the middleweight division. So if you want to see his punching power, just out him in the ring with Saunders,” said Tobias, who has given Namibia – a tiny African country with a population of less than 2.5 million – three world champions so far.
One thing is certain, this would be a mega match-up stylistically between an experienced, well-skilled boxer in Saunders, and a powerful boxer-puncher in Kautondokwa. There are not too many available opponents for Saunders for September 16, so Saunders vs Kautondokwa definitely looks like a good match-up for the record.
– www.boxingscene.com