Boxing refs sharpen skills

A two-day workshop for professional boxing referees and judges was officially opened by the Deputy Minister of Sport Pohamba Shifeta in Windhoek yesterday.

Shifeta thanked the Namibia Professional Boxing and Wrestling Control Board (NPBWCB)’s executive committee for organising the workshop, which ends today.He said the NPBWCB has been at the forefront of boxing development at national and regional level.The workshop, which takes place under the auspices of the World Boxing Organisation (WBO), will deliberate on important issues relating to new developments in the sport of boxing.On his part, NPBWCB chairman Kelly Nghixulifwa said the workshop is an important step towards the development of boxing in the country, stressing that more local referees and judges should be accredited in future to officiate at national and international boxing events.He appealed to participants to make use of the opportunity granted and to learn about the new techniques and rules of the game.According to Nghixulifwa, this is only the second such workshop in Namibia, after the first one in 1998.WBO fourth vice-president Andrew Smale, who is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, facilitates the workshop.Smale is also the director of African Boxing Legacy, and is a former referee and judge, who officiated at many international boxing bouts.Smale said that with its development programme, Namibia will undoubtedly be the future boxing powerhouse in Africa.He said the interest of the WBO in Africa is to take boxing to another level.Namibia has already produced a World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion in Moses ‘The Hitman’ Paulus and the WBO African lightweight champion Jatoorora Tjingaveta, who is currently ranked 10th in the world.About 10 participants are attending the workshop. – Nampa