Following a commendable fourth-round knockout win against South Africa’s Theo Nxayiphi at the weekend, Namibia’s Fillemon Nghutenanye has now set his eyes on much bigger opportunities and highly-rated opponents.
Nghutenanye successfully defended his WBA Pan African flyweight title against the South African at the Roman Catholic Hall on Saturday in the capital. The win also saw him extending his record to 11 wins and one draw.
An upbeat Nghutenanye has now set his sight on expanding his hunting zone, saying he feels that the time is right for him to make big moves.
“I worked so hard for that victory and I am thrilled with the outcome and my overall performance. This win means a lot because I can now climb in the rankings, which is crucial for any boxer. It also shows how much I have grown as a boxer, which is a positive sign,” Nghutenanye told New Era Sport.
He added: “I have improved significantly as a boxer, and this win against Nxayiphi again proves that I can compete with the best boxers in my division. I’m looking forward to what my promoter has in store for me, but for now, I say it’s time for me to take on the best in the world and shake the division up”.
Meanwhile, in other bouts that saw national titles put on the line, Abed Shikongo overcame Stefanus Shombonde with a second-round knockout.
Shikongo successfully retained his super welterweight national title, while Jonas ‘Shorty’ Erastus had to dig deeper to retain his flyweight national title against Luben Kandimba after 10 rounds of boxing.
In another non-title fight, Immanuel Moses outclassed his opponent Salatiel Moses after six rounds of boxing, with all three judges scoring in his favour after six rounds of their bantamweight fight.
Namibia’s former African Boxing Union Super Featherweight champion Nathanael ‘Natty’ Kakololo drew in his fight against Jona Shikukutu after six rounds. Two of the judges scored the fight a draw while one judge scored the fight in Kakololo’s favour.
The super featherweight fight between Lazarus Shaningwa and Magret Nepembe saw Shaningwa crowned as the winner, while in the super lightweight bout between Felesianu Albino and Andreas Nginaunye,
Albino was crowned the winner.
In the heavyweight category fight of Kareb Shitana and Johannes Nangolo, the former did all his work in the first round of that four-rounder as his opponent Nangolo refused to stand up for the second round, leading to Shitana winning the fight by technical knockout.
-Additional reporting by Nampa