Paulus “Ali” Nuumbembe became the new WBO African welterweight champion when he beat South Africa’s Samuel Malinga on a unanimous points victory over 12 rounds at the Windhoek Country Club on Saturday night. Two of the judges gave Nuumbembe a comfortable victory, 118-113 and 118-110, while a third scored the bout 115-114 in Nuumbembe’s favour.
Nuumbembe was however quite fortunate to win the fight as Malinga gave as good as he got and dominated the later rounds with his sharp combinations and higher work rate. Malinga also displayed a great chin, taking some big blows from Nuumbembe, but fighting his way out of trouble.
Nuumbembe came out attacking and dominated the early rounds with a strong jab and some good body shots. With the crowd firmly behind him, Nuumbembe landed some strong combinations and in the third round had Malinga in trouble with some sharp hooks. Nuumbembe however had to be warned a few times for low blows and for hitting Malinga after the end of the second round.
By the fourth round Nuumbembe had Malinga in trouble with an all out attack, but Malinga recovered well and landed some good combinations himself.
The fight took a twist in the fifth round when Malinga opened up a big welt under Nuumbembe’s right eye, which swelled up more and more as the fight progressed.
In the sixth round Nuumbembe landed some big hooks, one of which hit out Malinga’s mouthguard, and by the seventh round the boxers slugged it out toe to toe in the centre of the ring.
Nuumbembe kept on going forward and pushing the pace, but Malinga was quick on the counterattack and landed some sharp combinations of his own.
In the tenth round Nuumbembe shook Malinga with a huge right hook, but the South African came back strongly and finished the round on the attack, landing some sharp body blows.
Malinga dominated the final two rounds, landing more shots with his quick combinations, while he landed a flurry of blows Sugar Ray Leonard-style in the final round.
Nuumbembe’s early dominance however seemed to have pulled him through as he won the fight on a unanimous points decision to win the vacant WBO African welterweight title.
After the fight Nuumbembe’s trainer Nestor Tobias could not hide his anger at Nuumbembe for not finishing Malinga off in the early rounds.
“Ali should have finished him off early in the fight, but he has a soft heart and felt sorry for Malinga. He will never become a world champion with a soft heart, he has to be ruthless, and if he doesn’t change his attitude he might as well retire,” he fumed.
In the main supporting bout Vikapita Meroro won the WBO African light heavyweight title in stunning style, when he knocked out Zimbabwe’s Tinei Mharidzo in the second round.
Meroro set the pace from the start but struggled to find the target in the first round, as Mhardidzo managed to stay out of danger.
By the second round, however, Meroro started to find his range and when he caught Mharidzo with a vicious right hook it was all over. Mharidzo crashed to the canvas 1:54 into the second round and it took at least another two minutes before he recovered and limped out of the ring.
Meroro now has a pro record of 17 wins and one defeat.
Paulus “The Rock” Ambunda won the Namibian bantamweight title in ruthless style with a second round technical knockout against Tommy Nakashimba.
The hard-hitting Ambunda softened Nakashimba up with some sharp combinations in the first round before the end came quickly in the second.
Ambunda trapped Nakashimba in a corner and unleashed a serious of unstoppable blows to Nakashimba’s head and body, before the referee stepped in and stopped the fight, 33 seconds into the second round.
It was Ambunda’s eighth successive win as a pro, while it was Nakashimba’s fourth defeat in 12 fights.
Sacky “Izinyoka” Shikukutu also maintained his unbeaten record with a fourth round technical knockout of Zimbabwe’s Lovemore Moyo in a junior welterweight fight.
The powerful Shikukutu knocked Moyo down in the first round with a right hook but the Zimbabwean managed to beat the count and see out the round.
The Zimbabwean showed great courage to take the fight to Shikukutu, but the end came swiftly after only 19 seconds in the fourth round when Shikukutu connected with a great right hook that sent Moyo crashing down to the canvas. His corner immediately threw in the towel as the referee put an end to the fight.
It was Shikukutu’s 11th straight victory as a professional fighter and he certainly seems destined for greater heights.
The Namibian junior lightweight title fight between Gottlieb Ndokosho and Abraham Ndaendapo was stopped in the fourth round after Ndaendapo suffered a big cut over his left eye. With blood streaming down his face, the ring side doctor stepped in to stop the fight and since the fourth round had not been completed it was ruled a no contest.
Before the stoppage Ndokosho seemed to be in charge as he dropped Ndaendapo to the canvas with a sharp left hook in the second round. Ndaendapo however beat the count and staged a good recovery before the fight was stopped.
In a lightweight fight Albinu Felesianu beat Peter Malakia on a unanimous points decision over four rounds, with the judges scoring it 39-37, 39-37 and 39-38 in his favour.
In a lightweight rematch, Julius Indongo recorded his second successive victory against Pohamba Mandume with a unanimous points victory over four rounds. The three judges scored the fight 40-36, 40-36, 39-36 in Indongo’s favour.