2016-12-06Staff Report 2 Windhoek Just like King Midas, the famous Greek mythological king who had the ability to turn everything he touched into gold, Namibia’s award-winning boxing promoter Nestor ‘Sunshine’ Tobias has likened himself to the popular Greek emperor, saying almost any boxer he touches turns into a world champion. Speaking at yesterday’s victory press conference in the capital, a manifestly keyed-up Tobias said Saturday’s astonishing victory of Namibia’s newly-crowned double world champion Julius Indongo is no coincidence but a direct result of hard work and sheer dedication - and of course, his Midas touch. Not only did he stun and silence the massive Russian crowd at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow on Saturday, but Indongo went on to rewrite boxing history books when he knocked out homeboy Eduard Troyanovsky in 40 seconds of the first round to capture the IBF/IBO junior welterweight world titles. Indongo, now ranked second in the world and boasting an improved squeaky-clean record of 21 wins from the same number of bouts, will now go down in history as Namibia’s fourth boxer to hold world championship status - following in the footsteps of the legendary Harry ‘The Terminator’ Simon, Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses and more recently Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda. As for Tobias and his MTC Nestor Sunshine Boxing & Fitness Academy, Indongo is now his third fully home-grown world champion, with the first being Moses who ushered the academy into a new era when he won the WBA lightweight world title in 2009 and then followed Ambunda who won two world titles, first in 2013 (WBO bantamweight world title) and then in 2015 (IBO super bantamweight world title). “I don’t want to brag about Indongo’s achievements or look down on anybody, but we at the MTC Nestor Sunshine Boxing & Fitness Academy have over the years proven that we mean serious business and do understand what boxing is all about. We don’t just do boxing for the fame of it. When I started with this academy back in 2000, when nothing serious was happening on the local boxing scene, my plan back then was to produce our own home-grown world champion in 10 years but through hard work we did it in only eight years when Hitman Moses won a world title.” “And then followed Ambunda with two world titles in the subsequent years and now we are here celebrating another home-grown world champion in the form of Indongo. With all these achievements, I think it’s safe to say that I’m blessed and have proven that I have got the Midas touch to turn boxers into world champions. We are all blessed at our academy, from my boxers to all our sponsors,” boasted an excited Tobias. 2016-12-06Staff Report 2
