Paulus “The Hitman” Moses’ long awaited title defence has been delayed by another month after the World Boxing Association stepped into the fray and ordered that Moses defend his title against Miguel Acosta of Venezuela on 19 March. The 31-year-old Acosta is the WBA’s interim lightweight champion and a mandatory challenger for Moses’ title.
Moses was last in action on 25 July 2009 when he successfully defended his title against Takehiro Shimada of Japan with a unanimous points victory over 12 rounds.
Since then his title defence has twice been postponed. He was first supposed to fight Mexican boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera early in January, but that fight was postponed after the promoter Don King informed Tobias that Barrera first needed a warm-up fight.
It was then decided that Moses would fight an unnamed opponent at the same venue in Los Angeles on February 27. The WBA however has now entered the fray and ordered that Moses must fight the mandatory challenger, Acosta on 19 March.
Tobias told Namibia Sport that, as the sanctioning body, the WBA had the right to determine Moses’ next opponent, but that it would also depend on negotiations between King and the WBA.
“The Hitman has not fought a mandatory challenger for over a year now, but the WBA has the right to mandate him. But because the promoter is the one who brings in the money and he has got the right to give the boxer action, they want us to do a voluntary defence. So because of the intervention of the WBA we have to postpone the date to the 19 March now until negotiations between the promoter and the WBA are concluded,” he said.
Acosta is an experienced boxer with a professional record of 26 victories (20 KO’s), three defeats and two draws. Moses, on the other hand, is still undefeated after 25 professional bouts.
Acosta’s last fight also took place on July 25 2009, when he knocked out Urbano Antillon of Mexico in the ninth round.
Tobias, meanwhile, said that they would have to adjust Moses’ training schedule but was confident that Moses would be in top shape.
“We just have to balance the programme and now I will just try to keep him fit. We will sharpen him up one month before the time, but the fitness is not a problem – he will be ready for the fight,” he said.