Hitman powers to victory

NAMIBIA’S Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses held on cleverly to retain his WBA world lightweight title by unanimous decision, after he was pushed to the limit by Japan’s Takehiro Shimada on Saturday night.

Moses extended his winning streak to a fabulous 25 fights without defeat, of which 17 are knockouts.Two of the judges scored the fight 119-109 in his favour while the third had 118-110 on his card, as the outcome was read to at least 4 000 boxing fans who converged for the first ever world title fight in Namibia.Despite the win, Moses did not take control of the fight from the onset and at times exposed himself heavily to his more experienced opponent, who added his fifth loss from 29 fights in his pro career. Moses went into the fight with too much caution and never looked to take out Shimada, despite being presented with two clear chances in round 6 and 7 to down the tough challenger.His follow-ups were a bit slower and the fact that he largely failed to use his uppercut well gave the challenger a good reason to hang around and ultimately push the fight up to the final round.Shimada, at 37, wanted to become the first ever Japanese lightweight champion, but his chance was blown away by Moses who did not produce one of his best performances.Overall, Moses was on high alert about the capabilities of his opponent as he smartly avoided being caught in corners and also kept a safe distance. But he also delivered occasional quick combinations to keep Shimada in check, while the Japanese did well to withstand the barrage of jabs, especially in the final rounds.Namibia’s Betuel ‘The Unstoppable’ Uushona held on to his WBA Pan-African Welterweight title when he pipped South Africa’s Welcome Ntshingila in an electrifying bout over 12 rounds.The stocky Namibian got the nod for unanimous winner after the judges scored 118-110, 118-110 and 120-109 in his favour.He dedicated the win to his father who passed away on Thursday.Uushona now has 18 straight wins without a loss in his professional career, compared to Ntshingila who now has 16 wins, 9 defeats and 3 draws. The exciting Jatoorora ‘The Sting’ Tjingaveta was also on top of his game as he retained his WBO African Lightweight title after downing fellow countryman Paulus Kapia in the seventh round.An incredible hook in the seventh round was all that Tjingaveta needed to finish off his opponent, who was rather stubborn throughout.Tjingaveta extended his record to 12 wins and two defeats, with Kapia now on eight wins and three defeats. Sacky ‘Izinyoka’ Shikukutu was simply too good for the pathetic Ramunzhi Khakhati of South Africa.The visitor was knocked out after 2 minutes and 44 seconds of the first round to give the flamboyant but highly talented Shikukutu his nine straight win in the paid ranks.Namibia’s Abmerk ‘The Scorpion’ Shindjuu also handed South Africa’s Maurice Mutavhatsindi a knockout in the second round to push his record to six wins, two draws and two losses.In another great victory, Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda won on points in a bantamweight contest against South Africa’s Pfariso Neluvhalani to make it seven wins without a loss to date.corry@namibian.com.na