Hitman in epic challenge

NAMIBIAN boxer Paulus ‘Hitman’ Moses faces an epic challenge when he goes up against Japan’s Yusuke Kobori in a lightweight world title fight in Yokohama, Japan, on January 3.

That fight will be the biggest ever for the Namibian since Kobori is the current World Boxing Association (WBA) champion in that weight category.
Paulus, who left for Japan yesterday, still took a 10-kilometre road run in the morning before he boarded his flight to South Africa at 13h00.
Despite having just over a week to acclimatise in Japan, Moses is determined to win the belt and become only the second Namibian boxer, after former middleweight contender Harry Simon, to win a world title fight.
At a dinner in his honour on Sunday organised by his trainer Nestor Tobias, Moses joked with his boxing friends, who included welterweight boxer Ali ‘Silent Assassin’ Nuumbembe, bantamweight fighter Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda and lightweight boxer Jatoorora ‘The Sting’ Tjingaveta.
But none of those friends will be ringside to support him in Japan. They will instead watch him on television as he tries to down Kobori, who has been evasive since earlier this year.
The fight was postponed numerous times, but come January 3, it will be either Kobori keeping his title or Hitman grabbing it from him in what could be a huge upset for world-renowned boxing promoter Don King, who is standing behind the Japanese.
If Moses wins it, he will make history by becoming the first Namibian to win a world title fight in the lightweight division.

RECORDS

At the moment, the Namibian champion boxer has the WBA Intercontinental belt and the Pan-African belt to his name.
He has prolific record of 23 wins and 17 knockouts with no loss. He has fought a total of 132 rounds since he joined the pro ranks and is only 30 years of age.
Kobori, at 27 years of age, has won 23 fights from 26, with two losses and a draw.
Kobori was born in rural Yotsukaido in Japan, while Moses hails from northern Namibia.
Moses’s knockout record stands at a healthy 73 per cent, compared to Kobori’s 46 per cent.
Both fighters are orthodox in their stance and the fight is expected to dish out the best there is in lightweight boxing.
The winner will be determined after 12 rounds, or earlier, depending on who takes his chances exceptionally well.
Moses is well liked among Namibian boxing fans and promised before his departure that he would fight his heart out to bring home the title.