Helao Nafidi – Speed, precision and devasting power were the core ingredients to Charles Shinima’s emphatic victory over South Africa’s Mziwoxolo Ndwayana, whom he sent plummeting in the second round to retain his WBO Africa welterweight title on Saturday.
Shinima’s title defence against Ndwayana was one of the main supporting bouts during Saturday’s ‘Together as One Part-6’ Independence Boxing Bonanza at the Helao Nafidi Expo Hall, which saw the 29-year-old Namibian further magnifying his inspiring march towards greatness in local boxing.
The opening round started off with moderate action, with both fighters testing each other out with some good toe-to-toe action in the middle of the ring, which was mostly characterised by a flurry of head and body shots.
Both fighters finished the first round high on confidence, but it was clear from the pep talk in Shinima’s corner during the water break that they had seen enough of Ndwayana’s capabilities and weaknesses.
The second round saw Shinima starting to display his silky moves, and closing in with strong punches and good footwork. As the second round wore on, it was becoming evident that Ndwayana could not handle Shinima’s powerful shots as he back-pedalled at times.
It was in the second round that Shinima sent Ndwayana tumbling face down with a combination of razor-sharp head shots, which first saw the hard-hitting Shinima freezing out Ndwayana with a devasting blow to the forehead, before pummeling him with two more jaw-cracking shots to bring the fight to an abrupt end as the South African laid on the floor unresponsive.
The short-lived fight saw the undefeated Shinima successfully retaining his WBO Africa welterweight belt, and also extending his impressive record to 14 straight wins from the same number of bouts, while the outcome earned the South African his seventh career defeat. “I’m happy with the win and with how the knockout came, although my initial plan was to take him for a few more rounds before going for the knockout. I did not expect the knockout to be that worse, but a win is a win. I am happy for myself and my team, who helped me prepare well for this fight,” said an elated Shinima in a post-fight interview.
Paulinus ‘John John’ Ndjolonimus, whose fight was the main supporting bout on the night, also managed to retain his WBO Africa super middleweight title when he stopped Erick Tshimanga of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the eighth round.
It was not an easy road to victory for Ndjolonimus, as Tshimanga held his own and stretched the lanky Namibian to the limit, especially in the middle rounds. But Ndjolonimus regained control of the fight in the seventh and eighth rounds, which eventually saw Tshimanga throwing in the towel by the end of the eighth round. The bout of the night saw the young and highly promising Philipus ‘Energy’ Nghitumbwa retaining his WBO Global super bantamweight title with a first-round stoppage win over Tanzania’s Said Chino.
Meanwhile, Paulus Amavila was on Saturday night crowned the new national junior welterweight champion after he delivered a masterpiece to force Elson Kalus to throw in the towel in the ninth round.
The other fights saw Reinhold Matheus beating Frederick Nghutenanye in the featherweight division over four rounds, while Joseph Hihangwa and Stephanus Kakololo fought to a draw in their supermiddleweight four-rounder. Nestor Thomas, who was clearly in a class of his own on the night, romped to a remarkable win over Antonio Moses during their bantamweight fight over four rounds, while Lazarus Shaningwa defeated Onesmus Nekundi in their junior lightweight bout over six rounds of thrilling action.
In the junior lightweight division, Ambrosius Kemunini made a superb debut as he outpointed the much-experienced Lineekela Nghifindaka, while Immanuel Jason defeated Sam Mathews via split decision during their featherweight fight over six rounds.
It was a slugfest between Emmanuel Mungadjela and Bernard Bernard during their national welterweight title bout, which saw the tactically superior Mungadjela reigning supreme after 10 rounds of intense action.
The young and highly gifted Martin Mukungu outboxed Shitilitha John on his way to a unanimous victory during their featherweight six-rounder, while Sebastianus Nathanael earned a sixth-round knockout win over Gerson Vaeta during their junior lightweight fight.-ohembapu@nepc.com.na