Windhoek
Even before he boarded the plane to Russia or even stepped into the ring on Saturday at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow, Namibia’s newly-crowned IBF/IBO junior welterweight world champion Julius ‘Blue Machine’ Indongo says he knew from the onset that victory was certain.
Indongo dethroned Russian double world champion Eduard Troyanovsky in his own backyard just 40 seconds into the first round of their unified world championship bout, leaving the Russian stone-cold with his vicious left-handed snap punch to bring home the IBF/IBO junior welterweight world titles.
Addressing the media at a fully-packed Nice Restaurant in Windhoek yesterday, the newly-installed world champion said going to Russia he wasn’t really worried about the pressure of fighting outside Namibia for the first time as a pro, or concerned about what the then undefeated Troyanovsky would have in store for him, because his natural instincts dictated that he was bound to topple the Russian from the plinth.
“With the kind of training regime we had in place preparing for the fight and coupled with the strength and quality of my sparring partners, I was fully confident in my fitness levels and I just knew something great would come out of this fight. Also, a big thank you should go to my coaches Imms Moses, Joe Hantindi and Siegfried ‘SBK’ Kaperu – these are the guys who made sure I was in top shape and my punches were razor-sharp,” said Indongo, who sparred with his senior and former world champion Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses as well as Mendu Kaangundue and Mike Shonena.
Also speaking at the victory press conference was MTC’s Tim Ekandjo. MTC is the principal sponsor of the MTC Nestor Sunshine Boxing & Fitness Academy. Ekandjo disclosed that Indongo is not obliged to fight Troyanovsky again as both camps did not agree to a rematch clause in their contracts.
“For now, we want to celebrate our new world champion. In fact, this victory is a Christmas gift to all Namibians, so let’s cherish it and celebrate. We are now looking forward to producing more world champions in the very near future, but for now let’s all celebrate this victory,” Ekandjo said briefly.