WINDHOEK – Namibia’s usually calculated and mild mannered leading boxing promoter, Nestor Tobias, aka ‘Sunshine’ is an angry man.
Irked by recent reports in a local English daily that pitted the former professional welterweight boxer against his old buddy, Harry Simon in an outside the boxing ring battle, Sunshine is spitting venom and has climbed bare knuckles into his distracters.
At the centre of the storm is Tobias’ apparent intimate relationship with local telecommunications giants MTC, his financial backers. Tobias applauded the Namibian Government, Nampower, Telecom Namibia and the loyal boxing fans for its assistance during the past years. “Our success lies in effective governance structure, excellent leadership that knows where to take the academy including the aspirations of each and every boxer in our camp.
He says the wisdom of their main sponsor MTC, who has elevated the academy to levels they could only imagine. The academy has over the years invested in strategic relationships with renowned boxing promoters and matchmakers around the globe since one cannot succeed in modern boxing without international networks and partners.
Arguably Namibia’s most successful boxing academy, the Nestor Tobias Sunshine Boxing and Fitness Academy stand accused of monopolising local boxing by rival camps.
“There is no such thing as monopoly in boxing, it depends on the strength of your academy and the quality of boxers you have to present to the world. Quality is not built over one day. We spent years investing in all our best boxers so far Ambunda, Hitman, Prince and Izinyoka are all testament of our hard work.
Tobias hit back at suggestions that corporate companies should channel their sponsors through the Namibian Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board.
“The board is a regulator, and cannot promotes fights on behalf of a promoter or manage funds on behalf of an academy because that would amount to gross conflict of interest clouding the autonomy of the Control Board. MTC sponsorship does not go solely to Tobias as an individual, it benefits lots of amateur boxers countrywide and more than 70 professional boxers who makes a living out of boxing,” charged a furious Tobias.
Tobias could not resist throwing a few quick jabs and uppercuts in the direction of rookie boxing promoter, Anita Tjombe, whom he accuses of stirring trouble between him and his old time buddy, Harry Simon.
“Anita knows nothing about the long and thorny journey the two of us had travelled and the sacrifices we endured for each other. She is not qualified to comment on our friendship, including issues pertaining to boxing. So I will rather reserve my comments because currently she is a persona non grata in local boxing following her suspension”.
He also let the cat out of the bag claiming that his academy dangled a juicy carrot in the face of the aging boxer (a lucrative offer containing a purse of N$250 000) but Simon apparently turned down the offer.
In the meantime, the award winning boxing promoter rubbished suggestions that he was just a journeyman during his professional boxing career in neigbouring South Africa.
“I was a professional fighter with 168 amateur fights under the belt, 10 years Namibian champion, 3 times South African (Springbok) champion and qualified for the 1988 Olympics in Soul, but could not make the trip as a result of the apartheid laws”.