THE one time Lukas ‘The Demolisher ‘ Ndafoluma fought in England, he upstaged then British prospect Craig Cunningham.
Following that one-sided affair in Manchester on 10 November 2018, Cunningham went on to lose his subsequent fight to Ecuadorian Jack Culcay and called it a day soon after.
Tomorrow, Ndafoluma (20-4) faces another one of Britain’s rising talents in Bradley ‘ Stingray ‘ Rea in Newcastle, and he’s keen to keep his unbeaten UK record intact.
Still smarting from losing his WBO Africa middleweight title after an eighth round TKO defeat to South African Nkululeko Mhlongo on home turf in December, Ndafoluma is bent on vindication.
“On Saturday night, I ‘m not gonna leave it to the judges. I ‘m gonna take it upon myself. I ‘m not gonna leave any stone unturned. This is my redemption. I ‘m gonna win in style,” Ndafoluma told The Namibian Sport yesterday.
“I prepared very well for this fight. I ‘ve been in the gym preparing since January because I was supposed to fight in April but that fight was postponed. So, this fight came at the right time.”
At 36, and coming off a fourth career defeat, Ndafoluma is no spring chicken and knows he needs the result to go his way to stay in the conversation.
“Whether it goes the full distance or a stoppage, I ‘m ready. For sure, I know I ‘m gonna win and come back victorious,” he said.
Rea delivered a thrilling first-round knockout victory over Craig McCarthy in February, to maintain an unbeaten start to his career.
The victory took the 23-year-old’s professional record to 12-0 and his fifth success inside the distance. He expects a much sterner examination of his credentials against the durable Ndafoluma.
“Tough test. Really tough test. He’s boxed at a very high level, done 10 [rounds] and 12 multiple times. He’s won titles,” Rea said when assessing his rival.
“But I ‘ve shown I ‘m not scared to get into these fights. It’s gonna be tough but I ‘m feeling good and ready to show the level I ‘m at. I ‘m not overlooking him at all.”
Touted as one to watch, Rea believes victory over Ndafoluma, especially a stoppage, will cement his status as a formidable middleweight campaigner.
“I know I can hit hard and if people aren ‘t gonna respect that, they ‘ll get shocked,” Rea said.
“If I hurt him on Saturday night, I ‘ll be going for that kill. It ‘ll be a big statement if I can get him out of there and that’s the plan.”
In response, Ndafoluma said Rea will not know what hit him tomorrow.
“If my opponent is saying he doesn ‘t see the fight going the distance, thinking he’s going to knock me out, he better wake up from his dream and start to apologise. I ‘m gonna stop him and give him a fight he’s never known before.”
The showdown is on the undercard of Savannah Marshall versus Femke Hermans, as the British fighter defends her WBO middleweight belt against the Belgian challenger.
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