WINDHOEK – Namibia’s undefeated WBO Africa middleweight king Walter “The Executioner” Kautondokwa has been thrown a lifetime opportunity to realise his dream of conquering the international boxing arena when he squares off with US boxer Demetrius Andrade for a mega world title showdown.

Andrade was initially set to fight Britain’s WBO world middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders but their fight was called off after the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission denied Saunders a licence to fight in their state following a failed drug test.

Saunders returned an adverse finding in a Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) test for stimulant oxilofrine in August. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and Ukad rules, oxilofrine is only banned in competition, meaning a fighter is only in breach of rules if it is found in his system on the day of a bout. But it is also prohibited at all times by Wada, who tested Saunders on 30 August.

Eddie Hearn, Andrade’s promoter, had arranged prior to the WBO’s decision for Kautondokwa to face Andrade in the event Saunders couldn’t get a licence.

As a result, the 33-year-old Namibian who is ranked 2nd in the world by the WBO will now climb into the ring as a replacement for Saunders to face No. 1 ranked Andrade for the WBO interim middleweight title at the TD Garden in Boston, USA.

Kautondokwa (17-0, 16 KO), has not gone the distance since his professional debut and was last seen knocking out Argentinian veteran Billi Godoy in March. 

“Kautondokwa has been working very hard to get where he is now and remained patient, disciplined and hardworking and has now truly earned the opportunity to get the biggest fight of his life. This is indeed a blessing as we are excited to be going back to the USA merely eight months after being there with Paulus ‘Hitman’ Moses. It is an incredible and outstanding achievement for the MTC Nestor Sunshine Promotions,” said promoter Nestor Tobias, who is also Kautondokwa’s handler.

“We have been waiting for such an opportunity to introduce the hard-hitting Executioner to the boxing world. That opportunity has finally dawned upon us and we are ready to deliver on the biggest world stage once again,” Tobias added.
On his part, Kautondokwa said: “I’m truly humbled by this opportunity. I only ever fought once beyond Namibian borders during my entire professional career, but I will not be intimidated to fight in the USA. I thank the good Lord for blessing me with this opportunity. I laid my mom to rest just a few days to go but I’m more determined now than ever to go out there and make her proud.”

“Time and again, the MTC Sunshine Promotions keeps producing world-class boxing gatherings and international journalists and boxing promoters never seem to figure out just how a promoter from Africa, notably from such a small country like Namibia, gets this right. Well, the response is simple, they are world class in their thinking and philosophy, professional strategy, well experienced and are simply the best in what they do as they live and breathe boxing. We are certainly very proud of them,” remarked MTC’s Tim Ekandjo, who are the main sponsor of the MTC Nestor Sunshine Boxing and Fitness Academy.

“We will go to Atlanta on the 20th of October to support Kautondokwa, and know the fight will be tough, but we will go there to win and shock the boxing world since we have done it time and time again before and will do it again,” charged Tobias.

Andrade goes into this fight the more experienced, boasting a remarkable record of 25 wins from the same number of fights and is a former WBO super welterweight world champion.

He will be out to become a two-division world champion if he beats Kautondokwa whilst the latter is undefeated after 17 fights. The Namibian would want to keep his phenomenal unbeaten record, and it promises to be an interesting fight between two boxing giants.