WINDHOEK – Namibia’s super featherweight sensation Jeremiah “Lowkey” Nakathila on Saturday put on a vintage display when he dismantled and outfoxed Hungarian opponent Zoltan Kovacs to further bolster his boxing career and move within touching distance of a potential world title.
A dominant Nakathila ruled the fight from the first round, pounding Kovacs with powerful hooks and outwitting him with some great footwork before eventually flooring him in the first round. But the gallant Hungarian beat the count and tried bringing his own game forward but Nakathila gave him little room as he kept closing in with his superior speed and power.
A determined but overwhelmed Kovacs tried coming forward in the middle rounds and managed to shake up the Namibian with a few decent head and body shots but as the fight moved beyond the middle rounds, Kovacs’ punches seemed to lose their steam, and that allowed Nakathila to go in pursuit. Nakathila methodically broke Kovacs down and in the 3rd and 5th rounds, a clearly wrathful Nakathila went about his business craftily causing serious damage to the face and body of the defenceless Hungarian and the referee could have stopped the fight much earlier
By the 6th and 7th rounds, a bruised and hurt Kovacs backpedaled most of the way and stopping only to throw an occasional harmless flurry at Nakathila but the Namibian wore him down with powerful body shots and jaw-cracking hooks.
It was in the 8th round that Nakathila pounced and uncorked a bustle of strong punches that had the hapless Kovacs further waning on the ropes and eventually with his knees down, forcing South African referee Deon Dwarte to leap in and stop the fight just under 2 minutes into the 8th round to protect an outmuscled Kovacs.
With Dwarte’s mediation, a raved and jovial Nakathila jumped on the ropes, barking to the packed crowd at Windhoek Country Club to make sure everyone properly acknowledged that he was the new WBO Global champion and bigger things are yet to come.
The win sees Nakathila improve his record to 18 wins with 14 coming by KO and only one loss. Trainer and promoter Nestor Tobias from the MTC Nestor Sunshine Promotions was impressed with the win.
“We needed to challenge a top 15 contender to show that we are serious about fighting Ito, the current champion. We extended an invitation to all the top guys in the division and only Kovacs was willing to face Nakathila. It only makes sense that Nakathila now be declared the mandatory challenger to Ito and get an opportunity to challenge Ito next. Our goal is clear, we want to challenge Masayuki Ito for his title.”
“This was a tough fight but one I needed to prove that I am amongst the best in this division. I feel 100% ready to fight Ito now whether home or away. I am mentally and physically ready to fight him, and I wish to formally challenge him to fight me next,” said Nakathila right after the fight.
In the main undercard, WBO Africa welterweight champion and WBO rated number 7, Mikka “Silent Assassin” Shonena, knocked out Shadrack Ignas from Tanzania in the 4th round to improve his unbeaten record to 14 straight wins.
Namibia’s rising prospect Harry Simon Jnr, son of Namibia’s first undefeated world champion Harry Simon, knocked out Festus Mathias to clinch the Namibia National junior welterweight title. The fight between Walter Kautondokwa and Tanzania’s Jacob Maganga was called off after Maganga failed a fitness test. – Additional info: www.boxingscene.com