WINDHOEK – Following his near faultless display in the boxing ring that saw him waltz past Ghanaian challenger Ebenazer Lamptey with ease in the main undercard bout of the ‘Redemption of the Rock’ boxing bonanza in Omuthiya last weekend, Bethuel ‘Tyson’ Uushona, has moved up a notch and is now the mandatory challenger as the number one in the world rankings.
The nimble footed Uushona manufactured yet another splendid display of boxing virtuosity when he defeated Lamptey by an unanimous decision to successfully defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Africa title, his 5th successful title defense. Ushona send Lamptey to the canvas several times and dominated each and every round of their 12-round bout, which ended prematurely with two rounds to spare. As it stands, it is uncertain whether Ushona will realize his dream since word from abroad is that the recent Mike Alvarado/Juan Marques fight was for the WBO world title eliminator, which is confusing to say the least. “How can you have an eliminatory fight for the world title, while there is a declared mandatory challenger in place,” charged an irate Nestor Tobias, who is the trainer and promoter of the MTC Nestor Sunshine Boxing Academy. “We are confused because our interpretation of the rules of boxing is that the mandatory challenger must be given an opportunity to fight the current champion and it is not up to the champion to decide, but the WBO must ensure that its own rules are adhered to.” This comes after Bob Arum’s recent remarks on Es News Sports that Manny Pacquiao is considering to fight the winner between Cotto and Sergio Martinez that will be in the Middleweight division and has nothing to do with the Welterweight title. “We are dealing with a very credible boxing organization in the name of the WBO, who have never failed us before,” Tobias reiterated this week.
This is not the first time that boxing is confronted with such a situation, according to Tobias, who added that no promoter should be allowed to manipulate the rules of boxing. He further believes the WBO will not allow its integrity to be compromised. “I can recall similar situations where the WBO has put its foot down and ordered champions to adhere to fighting the mandatory challengers. Klitschko is one example who recently defended his title against the mandatory challenger Alex Leapai and the new WBC.”
By Staff Reporter