Hitman’s fight set for June 27

NAMIBIA’S WBA lightweight world champion Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses will fight Verquan Kimbrough of the United States in his first voluntary title defence in Windhoek on June 27.

The 26-year-old Kimbrough has an impressive professional record of 20 wins (seven by KO), two draws and one defeat and is currently ranked 15th by the WBA.
In terms of the WBA’s regulations, Moses has to fight a top-15 contender in his first voluntary title defence.
The Hitman’s promoter Nestor Tobias said that it would be a tough fight, but he expected that the Hitman would emerge victorious.
‘I watched a tape of Kimbrough this morning and he is a suitable opponent for the Hitman. He doesn’t run too much and he likes to come forward, but I think the Hitman will win because of his superior hand speed and footwork,’ he said.
‘It will be a good fight but it won’t be easy. If the Hitman wants to be number one, he must beat all these guys. We will train to win and we will be ready – that’s for sure,’ he said.
The Hitman paid respect to his opponent, saying he did not see it as an ‘easy fight.’
Moses said he had already seen a videotape of Kimbrough in action and expected to win the fight.
‘I have seen him fight, but for me it is not a problem. Don’t worry about it, I will punish him,’ he said.
Tobias said that a fundraising committee had been established consisting of himself, Kelly Nghixulifwa and Ellison Hijarunguru of the Namibian Professional Boxing Control Board and F&H Promotions.
‘We signed a contract with Don King but he does not come cheap, he is very expensive, and since it is an international event we will have to pay in US dollars. We have appointed F&H Promotions to help organise the fight because they are very experienced and they have also been approved by the government,’ he said.
Tobias however said that they needed to raise between US$800 000 and US$1 million to stage the fight in Namibia and called on all Namibians to contribute to the cause.
‘This title is a national asset and that’s why we have to protect it. I am asking all Namibians to help us stage this fight, even one dollar will help,’ he said.
He added that they would hold a fundraising gala event at the Windhoek Country Club on June 11, where Moses’s fight when he won the title against Yusuke Kobori in Japan on January 3 will also be screened.
Horst Schnelle of F&H Promotions said they had various fundraising campaigns planned, including radio pledges, where The Hitman will go on air, while they were negotiating with major companies.
‘The gala dinner will be a spectacular event, while we have a lot of other interested sponsors.,’ he said.
Tobias said that if the funds were not forthcoming they might be forced to stage the fight elsewhere.
‘We already had to do that before, when The Hitman fought Kobori, we wanted to stage that fight in Namibia, but could not raise the funds, and it can happen again. Everyone was happy when he won the world title, but now we will ask everyone to put a dollar on the table to bring this fight to Namibia,’ he said.
Tobias said the fight would be staged in the car park of the Windhoek Country Club where they expected about 3 000 people could be accommodated.
– www.namibiasport.com.na