ONGWEDIVA – Defending champions Namibia Defence Force (NDF) have promised fireworks and are determined to defend their title when the annual Kilimandjaro Boxing Championships gets under way at the University of Namibia’s Hifikepunye Pohamba campus in Ongwediva on Saturday.
The men in uniform scooped the Babeface floating trophy at both the Kilimandjaro and Babeface Boxing Championship at the Sam Nujoma Multi-Purpose Centre in Ongwediva last June, leaving Kilimandjaro boxing club to pick up the pieces for overall 2nd place with the Namibian Police Force adrift in 3rd place.
Managing Director of the Kilimandjaro Boxing Championship, Joseph Benhard, says the event is aimed at assisting the development of boxing in Namibia especially among the youth.
A formidable retired boxer who represented his country internationally, Benhard added that the championship has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception four years ago. “The year’s championship is going to be bigger than the previous ones because of the anticipated large contingent of participants,” boasted Benhard.
He added that boxing is very close to his heart hence the initiative to introduce the particular annual gathering. “As a former boxer, I realized the need to create a championship that brings amateur boxers together and Kilimandjaro Boxing Championship was just the right tonic to achieve our objective,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Safety and Security Erastus Uutoni, patron of the Kilimandjaro Boxing Club, will be present to welcome the guests on the opening day of the championship.
By Nuusita Ashipala