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Home / Ambunda clinches WBA belt, makes short work of Nasibu … ‘Cowboy’ celebrates emphatic victory
Ambunda clinches WBA belt, makes short work of Nasibu … ‘Cowboy’ celebrates emphatic victory
2018-01-04Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter Swakopmund-Namibia’s veteran professional boxer Paulus “The Rock” Ambunda, has been crowned the new WBC Silver International Super Bantamweight title holder. Ambunda defeated his Tanzanian opponent Nasibu Ramadhan at the Desert Rumble Boxing Bonanza at the Dome, in Swakopmund, last Friday. The bout, arguably the biggest the coastal town of Swakopmund has ever witnessed, was co-hosted by Kalakoda Promotions from South Africa and emerging local boxing stable, Salute Boxing Academy. Also in attendance were many dignitaries, including the Minster of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta and Namibian Police Force chief, Lieutenant General Sebastian Ndeitunga. Kwesé Sport aired the fight live to more than 30 countries on the African continent that saw the former Namibian world champion starting the fight off a lot more reserved than anticipated by the large portion of the crowd. The former IBO world champion kept his East African opponent at a distance for much of the opening four rounds, peppering the Tanzanian with quick combinations before taking up a defensive stance again. However, the highly experienced Ramadhan, boasting 35 bouts in the paid ranks, did well to avoid any damage by Ambunda’s deliveries. After the third round, “The Rock” exploded, as he adjusted well to his tricky opponent starting to control the action more and more while Ramadhan also tried his utmost best to force a turn-over in front of the capacity crowd, upping his work rate but failing to seriously trouble the marauding Namibian, who calmly played out his advantage past the 12-round mark. Ambunda’s dominance was reflected in the final scorecard, with all three judges John Chaggu (Tanzania), John Shipanuka (Zambia) and Fillemon Mweya (Namibia) unanimously giving the Namibian the nod (118:109, 115:113, 118:108). “I have worked very hard for this particular fight and I’m ready for another title shot,” said Ambunda after his 25th career triumph. In the main supporting bout, local and crowd favourite Albinis “Danny Boy” Felesiano had a short work day, as his thundering left hook sent Raston Kayira from Malawi crashing to the deck after 47 seconds into the second round. Felesiano, who recently spent a couple of weeks of preparation with Kalakoda Promotions in Cape Town, South Africa, promised he would “bring the pain” on Friday night and surely kept his word. After an uneventful first round, “Danny Boy” was causing Kayira all sorts of problems just after the bell went off for the second round. A short exchange of heavy blows in the non-title lightweight fight between the two fighters was eventually ended in emphatic fashion, as Felesiano knocked out Kayira dead cold. “I’m very happy and now look forward to the next thing,” said Falesiano, who now stands at 18 fights with 15 wins, two defeats and one draw. An even more dominant performance came from hot junior middleweight prospect Vakufilapo “Cowboy” Nashivela. Going into the fight for the vacant WBF Africa title undefeated with five wins from the same amount of fights, four of which failed to go over the distance, the pressure was on Nashivela to deliver against South African opponent George Mduli. Despite his relatively young age, the 28-year-old man from Texas “Cowboy” stepped up to celebrate his quickest win ever, sending Mduli to the canvas after just 47 seconds in the first round. In other action, old hand Joseph “Smoky Joe” Hilonga beat Tinkhani Kamanga from Malawi on points (56:58, 55:58, 55:59) while Jonas Matheus had a tough day at the office but managed to reign supreme over Malawi international Israel Kamwamba with a split decision win (56:58, 57:57, 57:58). Immanuel “Imms” Josef beat George Kandulo from Malawi (60:54, 60:54, 60:54) and Lazarus Shaningwa came out tops in the all Namibian affair against his country man Andreas Nghinaunye (40:35, 40:35, 40:35). 2018-01-04Staff Report 2
