By Otniel Hembapu
WINDHOEK – If the heated verbal missiles exchanged between Immanuel ‘Prince’ Naidjala and Joseph ‘Smokey Joe’ Hilongwa at yesterday’s final press briefing are anything to go by, than local fans are in for a serious boxing jamboree.
With the Windhoek Country Club the host venue for tomorrow’s eagerly-awaited ‘No Mercy Part-3’ Boxing Bonanza, Naidjala will be topping the bill when he defends his World Boxing Organisation (WBO) African Bantamweight crown against Hilongwa, in what both boxers said will be a bloodbath.
Hilongwa was the first to unleash an avalanche of verbal jabs on Naidjala, making it crystal clear that he has grown tired of the usual trash talking and can’t wait to silence ‘Prince’ once and for all.
Outlining his intentions for tomorrow’s fight, a confident Hilongwa said, if it’s what it takes, he would go out of his way in order to discipline Naidjala. “He is a small boy who lacks respect and I will teach him respect come tomorrow. If he is scared or maybe has plans of chickening out, than it’s too late for doing so because tomorrow is almost here and he will feel the pain,” cautioned Hilongwa.
On the other end of the table, an unfazed Naidjala refused to be drawn into the usual trash talking of boxers but promised to pour fire on this opponent.
“It will be nothing but blood and sweat, I will punish Hilongwa in the first 6 rounds and if he refuses to go down, I will put more fire and punish him even more. Someone will go down tomorrow and we all know it will be him. I don’t need the judges to decide the fight for me, I will decide the outcome of this fight myself by winning it fair and square,” said Naidjala, who called on his fans to come out in numbers to witness firsthand as he makes history.
Naidjala boast a record of 18 wins, 1-defeat and 1-draw from 20 bouts, while his challenger goes into the fight with an equally impressive record of 13 victories and one technical draw (TD) from 14 fights in total.
Whatever happens at Country Club tomorrow, a place in history is assured for the winner, as the victor of this bout will earn a top-5 ranking in the WBO world rankings, thus boosting his future chances of taking a shot at the world title. Entrance fee is N$200 per person and N$10 000 per table seating 10 people. Action starts at18h30.