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Home / What’s next for Indongo after Crawford defeat?
What’s next for Indongo after Crawford defeat?
2017-08-22Staff Report 2 Otniel Hembapu Windhoek Despite the twinge surrounding Julius ‘Blue Machine’ Indongo defeat to America’s boxing ace Terence Crawford over the weekend, the reality is that Indongo’s career has been altered and he will have to return to the drawing board and reflect. Although many have come out strongly to criticise and condemn the schoolboy manner in which Indongo succumbed to Crawford - a third round knockout - in a fight of such huge magnitude and one with so much historic significance. But to be quite honest, especially for an African boxer, Indongo’s mere participation in that momentous full unification world title fight featuring the world’s four major belts (WBA,WBC,WBO ad IBF) was already history in the making in itself - at least by Namibia’s standards. While the ongoing moaning and carping from Indongo’s fans is somewhat justifiable, the biggest question on many people’s lips is what is next for Indongo? Well, as is customary practice and as you might have equally guessed, Indongo lost both his world championship belts (WBA and IBF) and since he already vacated the IBO belt ahead of the Crawford fight, he is currently beltless and holds no championship status. So what are the next available options for Indongo? As per international rules, Indongo will be expected to take a 90-day break to recuperate and reflect on his defeat while spending quality time with his loved ones. Despite the age factor not-so much in his favour (age 34), Indongo’s record is quite still intact and speaks volumes of his overall quality. His record now stands at 22-wins and only one defeat. Like we said, Indongo lost all his titles and currently boasts no championship status but that does not mean he is totally out of boxing’s top food chain, he will most likely still be ranked within the world’s top 10 by both the WBA and IBF. Will that help? Yes, with such a decent ranking Indongo remains a formidable boxer with a impressive record to still challenge for a world title in the near future - depending on how active he will be once he is back in the ring and also depending on who he fights at the time. Many would ask, how about a rematch with Crawford? Just like you, we would all love to see Indongo rematch the American for those coveted belts but in all honesty and considering the fashion in which Indongo lost, I highly doubt if any promoter would even bother pondering over such as option.Indongo and his team would have had good grounds to negotiate a rematch, if it was never in the contract, if the Namibian had at least convincingly lost somewhere later in the fight but not in the third round of such a massive fight. If, and that is a big if, Crawford’s camp decides to come to the table to discuss a rematch, they will most likely throw around big figures in the region of a couple of millions that will scare Indongo’s camp away and eventually dampen their negotiating spirits. Anyway, if a rematch is persuaded, what is in it for Crawford and why would he even bother stepping into the ring with the former Namibian triple world champion? I really don’t see a rematch happening at all and many people now feel Indongo is no match for the foxy Crawford anyway. That is just my opinion. But with recent talks that Crawford is planning to vacate all titles and move up to welterweight, maybe Indongo will still have a chance to unify all titles one day but like I said, depending on how active he will be and who he beats. As for now, Indongo must take a well deserved break and once fully mentally refreshed, he must return to the drawing board and craft a new path and he still has a lot to offer to the world and he equally remains one of Namibia’s boxing greats. This unfortunate defeat should serve as learning curve and as a distraction. 2017-08-22Staff Report 2
