Boxing

Boxing fans will be in for a treat when the Independence Day Boxing Bonanza takes place at the Windhoek Country Club on Saturday, March 20. In the main bout, Tyson Uushona will defend his WBA Pan African welterweight title against compatriot Tommy Hango, while several other Pan African and national titles will be up for grabs.

Uushona and Hango have fought each other once before, with Uushona winning a close fight on a split decision, and according to boxing promoter Nestor Tobias fans can once again expect a great fight.

Namibia’s former world boxing champion Harry Simon will now make his comeback in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday, after the British Boxing Board of Control refused to approve Simon’s scheduled comeback bout in London against Jevgenijs Kiselevs of Latvia.

Simon’s Namibian promoter Kiriata Kamanya of Salute Trading CC issued a statement on Thursday saying that Simon would now fight Douglas Otieno of Kenya at the Sun City Cinema in Nairobi on Saturday evening.

Paulus “The Hitman” Moses will finally defend his World Boxing Association lightweight title against former champion Jose Alfaro of Nicaragua on March 19. Moses’ title defence has twice been postponed after negotiations with other opponents broke down, but this time the fight has been sealed, according to Moses.

“My trainer Nestor Tobias told me that Don King had approved Jose Alfaro as my next opponent and we were just waiting for an answer. Last week Nestor told me that Alfaro had accepted the offer so now the fight will go ahead on 19 March,” he said.

Namibia’s former world champion Harry Simon will start his comeback trail when he takes on Jevgenijs Kiselevs of Latvia in a Super Middleweight fight in London on Friday, February 19.

Announcing the news at a press conference in Windhoek on Tuesday, Ellison Hijarunguru of the Namibian Professional Boxing Board said that Simon would take on Kiselevs in a warm up bout before he challenges Charles Adams of Ghana for the Commonwealth Super Middleweight title.

Tyson Uushona will defend his WBA Pan African welterweight title against compatriot Tommy Hango at the Windhoek Country Club on March 20.

Namibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias announced the fight at a press conference on Wednesday, saying it would top the bill at the Independence Celebration Boxing Bonanza, which will feature another continental title fight as well as a Namibian title fight.

Namibian flyweight boxer Abmerk Shidjuu will take on Chris Edwards of England for the vacant Commonwealth flyweight title in Manchester on February 19. Namibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias announced the fight at a press conference in Windhoek on Wednesday, saying that Shidjuu was ready for the challenge.

“We will depart for thre UK on Sunday. Abmerk is in top shape and ready to fight,” he said.

Shidjuu was confident that he would win the fight and bring the title to Namibia.

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.

Paulus Moses’ world title defence against Marco Antonio Barrera has been postponed till further notice, while Moses will now fight a yet to be named opponent on February 27. Moses’ trainer and promoter Nestor Tobias told Namibia Sport that he had received a telephone call United States promoter Don King, requesting a postponement.

“Don King said that Barrera first wants to have a warm-up fight before he takes on the Hitman. So now we have agreed that the Hitman will face another opponent on February 27 at the same venue in Los Angeles,” he said.

Namibian boxing had an excellent year during 2009, producing one world champion and several continental champions to underline Namibia’s status as the most successful boxing nation in Africa. Besides their success in the professional ranks, Namibia’s senior amateur team also won the African Boxing Confederation Zone 6 Championships, while the junior team won the overall gold medal at the SADC Zone 6 Youth Games.

The Khomas region dominated the National Amateur Boxing Championships on Saturday, winning eight of the 11 titles on offer. Khomas easily won the team category with eight gold medals and two silver medals. The Namibia Defence Force finished a distant second with two gold and one silver medal, while the Karas region finished third overall with one gold and one silver medal.