Namibia’s veteran boxer Lukas ‘The Demolisher’ Ndafoluma has blamed Saturday’s eighth-round technical knockout defeat to South Africa’s Nkululeko ‘The Bulldog’ Mhlongo on a recurring flu that caused major difficulties in breathing throughout their fight.
The usually vibrant and silky Ndafoluma was on Saturday a pale shadow of himself, with his signature razor-sharp jab and strong combinations nowhere to be seen during their heated title fight at the Windhoek Country Club.
In a fight that was mostly characterised by lukewarm action right from the opening round, it was evident that Ndafoluma was not his usual self, and his round-to-round durability also left a lot to be desired, as he would frequently be clinging on to Mhlongo in search of a breather due to fatigue.
His firepower and smooth footwork were also missing on the night – and as the fight wore on, it was slowly becoming clear that something was amiss with Ndafoluma.
He eventually threw in the towel in the eighth round, as exhaustion was starting to set in, and he later admitted that he was struggling to breathe properly and, therefore, decided to choose personal safety over a win.
“I really prepared well for this fight but, as we were heading into the weekend, I developed a very bad flu, which caused a heavy cough and affected my breathing. I thought I will recover on time for the fight, but it seems I didn’t recover well. My breathing just gave me problems throughout the fight – and the fatigue was also too much,” said the disappointed veteran fighter.
But despite his ailment, Ndafoluma gave credit to Mhlongo for showing up and putting up a great fight, saying he deserved the win.
“I don’t want to take away anything from my opponent; he came with a plan and gave me a great fight. Congratulations to him for the deserved win. I have really not been feeling well these past few days but I don’t want to make it an excuse. I will go back to the drawing board, recover from this bad flu and come back again.”
During the post-fight interview, his promoter Kiriat Kamanya of the MTC Salute Boxing Academy said it was an unfortunate outcome for his protégé, and further admitted that Ndafoluma had not been feeling well heading into Saturday’s fight, which saw the Namibian losing his WBO Africa middleweight title to the South African.
Kamanya and his South African counterparts both agreed to a rematch between Ndafoluma and Mhlongo, saying it was only fair for both fighters to be given another run for their money once the Namibian is fully recovered.
The rest of the results:
Lightweight: Immanuel Nghilongwa beat Joshua Nelomba by TKO, Round 2.
Bantamweight: Gabriel Jamba and Salatiel Moses fought to a draw.
Super welterweight:
Abed Shikongo beat Simeon Shafodino by unanimous decision.
Welterweight: Bernard Bernard beat Herber Negumbo by TKO, Round 1.
Lightweight: Lazarus Shaningwa beat David Shinuna by TKO, Round 4.
Flyweight: Jonas Erastus beat Oiva Amwaama by TKO, Round 2.
Lightweight: Shifiona Thomas beat Gerson Vaeta by TKO, Round 1.
Super lightweight: Albinus Felesianu beat Yohani Banda (Malawi) by TKO, Round 4.
Featherweight: Nathaniel Kakololo beat Romeo Mkwakwa (Malawi) by unanimous decision.
Super lightweight: Paulus Morgan beat Stefanus Shivambo by split decision.
WBO Africa flyweight title fight: Immanuel Josef (holder) beat Muhsin Kizota (Tanzania) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight: Fillemon Nghutenyane beat Mathews Nghikevali by knockout, Round 1.
Flyweight: Matias Hamunyela beat Leonard Gawanab by unanimous decision.
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na