JERRY Nekhubvi of South Africa stunned the home fans into silence when he knocked out Ali Nuumbembe in the second round to win the WBO African welterweight title at the Windhoek Country Club on Friday night.
Nekhubvi caught Nuumbembe with a hook to the chin, which sent him crashing to the canvas. Nuumbembe desperately tried to get up but was still stunned and staggered into the referee Herman Garusoab, who counted the Namibian out on his feet. It was a disappointing end for Nuumbembe who got off to a good start as he landed some good combinations towards the end of the first round. But when Nekhubvi caught him with a sucker punch in the second, it was all over as a dazed Nuumbembe failed to recover. The defeat saw Nuumbembe relinquishing the WBO African welterweight title to Nekhubve. It was his fifth defeat in 28 pro fights, which include 22 victories and one draw. Besides Nuumbembe’s defeat, there was plenty to cheer about for the 600-odd home fans as other Namibian boxers put on some great displays at the Triple WBO Africa Title Fight Bonanza. Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lived up to his nickname as he poleaxed Tendani Munayi of South Africa with a great hook in the third round to retain the WBO African bantamweight title. Munayi came into the fight with an impressive record of 11 wins and only one defeat, but he was no match for the powerful Ambunda.Ambunda knocked Munayi to the canvas with a powerful hook, and although the South Africa managed to beat the count, he was clearly in trouble and referee Timo Haikonda soon stepped in to save him from further damage. It was Ambunda’s 11th straight victory as a professional and he clearly has a great future ahead of him. In another fantastic bout, Martin Haikali retained the WBO African lightweight title with a unanimous points victory over his nemesis Jatoorora Tjingavete. Both boxers gave their all in a great fight that had the crowd on their feet and cheering wildly. Tjingavete came out firing from the start and shaded the early rounds with his quick jabs and combinations. Haikali displayed tremendous stamina and started launching strong counterattacks as the fight progressed. After 12 rounds of all-out action, Haikali was adjudged the winner all three judges’ scorecards, winning the fight 114-113, 115-112 and 116-111. Namibia’s former WBA African junior welterweight champion Jason Naule once again lost a comeback fight with a unanimous points decision against Modecai Donga of Zimbabwe. Naule was a shade of his former self as he lost a unanimous points decision, 58-56, 59-55, 59-55.Up-and-coming bantamweight boxer Immanuel Naidjala chalked up his fourth consecutive victory with a second-round knockout of Tapiwa Tembo of Zimbabwe. Naidjala, who impressed with his fast combinations, knocked Tembo down with a cracking hook and although the Zimbabwean beat the count, referee Joe Kaperu counted him out on his feet.Peter Malakia beat Richard Muninu of Zimbabwe with a technical knockout in the fifth round of their lightweight encounter. In an explosive encounter that saw both fighters hitting the deck early on, Malakia came back strongly to shade the final rounds before he floored Muninu with some great hooks to the body. In an entertaining welterweight encounter, Mandume Pohamba beat Joseph Katenda with a unanimous points decision over four rounds, with the judges scoring it 40-36, 40-37 and 40-38 in Pohamba’s favour. – Namibia Sport
