Tobias to showcase big guns

After staging another successful Boxing Bonanza, where Immanuel ‘Prince’ Naidjala defended his WBO Interim Africa Bantamweight title last weekend, Namibia’s leading boxing promoter Nestor Tobias is already eyeing his next challenge; that of bringing a world title to the country.

To meet that end the promoter will stage a World Title eliminator, featuring Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda as the main bout, on July 28.

What sets this bonanza apart from others Tobias has held is that the evening will feature some big names with Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses and Bethuel ‘Tyson’ Uushona also in action.

“There will be internationally recognised boxers in action. Ambunda will face William Prado from Brazil while Moses and Uushona will fight highly rated South Africans Cassius Baloyi and Isaac Hlatshwayo respectively,” he announced at a press briefing yesterday.

Tobias added that the fight will give Ambunda, who boasts a record of 18 wins from 18 fights, a chance to challenge for a World Title.

“It is a WBO/WBA eliminator, meaning that after the fight he can become a mandatory challenger for a Bantamweight title in either of the organisations,” he said.

But ‘The Rock’ won’t have it easy against Prado, who is the Interim Latino Bantamweight champion.

The Brazilian fighter also has an outstanding record of 19 wins from 21 fights with one loss and a draw.

The fact that Prado’s only loss was back in 2008 means the boxer will test Ambunda’s impeccable record.

Moses and Uushona will likewise not have an easy ride as both Baloyi and Hlatshwayo have excellent track records.

“Both guys are former champions, so they are not Mickey Mouse fighters,” Tobias said.

Baloyi, who is an experienced boxer with 44 fights under his belt, was an IBF Super Featherweight champion while Hlatshwayo has held IBF and IBO World Welterweights titles at separate occasions.

Another fight that Tobias is hoping for is a rematch between flyweights Abmerk Shidjuu and Joseph Hilongwa.

“We want them to fight for the WBO Africa Flyweight title and have talked to Hilongwa’s manager but he still has to come back to us,” the promoter explained.

The two fought for the Namibian Flyweight title in 2008 where Hilongwa emerged victorious, and Shidjuu will want revenge, if the fight does take place.

As is customary, a number of other undercards will also take place, with Tobias saying that he is in still in talks with the managers of boxers from various gyms.

The promoter has chosen an interesting site for the eliminator, with Ramatex touted as the venue.
“It is a big venue because we also plan to have musicians performing live in what is going to be a big night for Namibia,” Tobias concluded.

There will be three types of tickets available with VIP entrance costing N$500, middle row seating N$200 and the grand stand N$50.