WINDHOEK – Namibia’s undefeated WBO Africa middleweight king Walter “The Executioner” Kautondokwa is faced with a mammoth task brushing aside unbeaten American opponent Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade in their WBO world middleweight title fight this weekend at the TD Garden in Boston, USA.

Ahead of the mega fight that is currently dominating international headlines, New Era Sport will today do a head-to-head analysis of the two boxers; looking at their styles of boxing, power, skills and their overall application to the game of boxing.

The fight is expected to be one for the books, and while the talented and hard-hitting Kautondokwa is favoured by the odds makers to emerge victorious in Boston, many international boxing pundits believe Andrade has the speed, skills and toughness to outmaneuver the lanky Namibian who will be fighting in the US for the first time.

Starting with Kautondokwa, the 33-year old Namibian possesses serious punching power and equally packs a brutal right hand that can dismantle unwary any opponent put in front of him. Kautondokwa is known for using his lead left-hand as a tactical tool jabbing with his left to set up or compliment his killer right-hand shots. 

Although he has mostly fought African boxers and in the process earned a squeaky clean record of 17 wins from 17 fights as a professional due to his unmatched dominance continentally in the middleweight division, Kautondokwa is a born fighter by any all definitions of the word itself and squaring off against the highly-favoured Andrade on Saturday should serve as a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Namibian to conquer the world and earn his place amongst the Namibia’s greats.

Kautondokwa is not your customary stylish hopping fighter, but one thing that is for sure is that he knows how and when to get the job done with his widely feared right hand, which has always been his bread-and-butter punch and Argentina’s Billi Facundo Godoy will be first to attest. Not just his right hand but Kautondokwa’s jab is agonizingly sharp and can easily stifle the venom of any opponent.

Studying videos of Andrade, one thing that stood out is the American’s speed, aggressiveness and durability as well as his somewhat impressive footwork. But one can confidently state that Andrade is not your exceptionally out-of-this-world fighter.

The American moves with waspish ferocity, buzzing rapidly in and out of his opponent’s range while unleashing a raft of combinations straight from the conception of the bell. But that should be of little trouble for the Namibian as Kautondokwa’s jab, which is boosted by his remarkable reach, is well used, should be able to calm Andrade down.
Another aspect that New Era Sport learnt from studying Andrade’s videos is that his speed enables him to quickly distance himself from his opponent and return safely out of range in between bursts. 

His punching speed also allows him to create angles and openings for attack, and once he is within range, Andrade is one of the finest combination punchers in the sport. 

Despite his otherworldly speed and punching accuracy, Andrade will Saturday find a solid and determined opponent in Kautondokwa. The Namibian is not only a smart fighter but also boasts a rock-solid chin that has survived bombs from some of Africa’s heavy hitters such as Ghana’s Obodai Sai and South Africa’s Walter Dlamini.

Paradoxically, Kautondokwa’s greatest strengths could also be his source of his greatest weakness as the Namibian has never fought a top rated hard-punching and blazingly fast boxer like Andrade and fighting at the TD Garden in front of a massive hostile US crowd could also play badly against the Namibian.