Indongo outpunches South Africa’s Mbira

Namibia’s Julius Indongo gave a brilliant performance to beat South Africa’s Owethu Mbira in a lightweight fight at the AIBA African Olympic Games qualifying tournament on Tuesday.

Indongo came out smoking from the start and dominated the fight with a vast array of punches to win the bout 12-6 on points. With Indongo throwing punches from all angles, Chauke could not get into his stride, although he managed to land some effective blows to the body in the close exchanges.But Indongo mostly stayed out of reach, picking up points with his long jab and quick combinations.With the victory, Indongo also exacted revenge after Chauke beat him during their previous fight at the 2007 Zone Six Championships in Botswana.Namibia’s team manager Elia Irimari was delighted with the result, saying that Indongo gave Chauke no chance.”Indongo came out firing and his fists were raining on Chauke.He was hitting from a distance, but all his punches found their target and landed well.Indongo was highly focused and although Chauke was more skilful, he could not outsmart Indongo,” he said.Namibia’s Immanuel Naindjala however lost his fight to Nicholas Okoth of Kenya, 16-11 on points.Naindjala started on the offensive, finding his target with his crisp jab, and after two rounds was leading 6-4 on points.Okoth however landed some heavy blows to Naindjala’s face as the fight progressed and finished stronger.By the third round the boxers were level 9-all on points, but Okoth overshadowed Naindjala in the final round to win the bout.It was a disappointing end to the tournament for Naindjala, who had high hopes of qualifying for the Olympics.He however could not match Okoth’s power and his decision to move up a weight from the 54kg category to the 57kg category could have contributed to his defeat.”I think Naindjala’s step-up in weight affected his performance and he could have done better in the 54kg category.I don’t know why he moved up, maybe he was looking for a new challenge,” Irimari said.ASHIVUTHI LOSES In the 54kg category Namibia’s Norbert Ashivuthi lost 15-10 on points to Tanzania’s Emiliani Polino.Ashivuthi came out on the offensive and took an early lead after picking up points with his fast combinations to head and body.Polino however fought back and by the second round both boxers were slugging it out toe-to-toe in the centre of the ring, driving the crowd wild with delight.The turning point however came in the third round when Ashivuthi had to take a standing eight count after receiving a heavy punch and although he fought back bravely, Polino held on for the victory.But despite the defeat it was a great performance by the inexperienced Ashivuthi who showed that he can still go far in the sport.Namibia’s remaining boxers in the tournament are now Indongo, Desmond Kasuto (69kg), Johannes Simon (51kg) and Tobias Munihango (91kg).The tournament continues today and tomorrow at the Unam Gymnasium with the finals scheduled for Saturday afternoon.Namibia SportWith Indongo throwing punches from all angles, Chauke could not get into his stride, although he managed to land some effective blows to the body in the close exchanges.But Indongo mostly stayed out of reach, picking up points with his long jab and quick combinations.With the victory, Indongo also exacted revenge after Chauke beat him during their previous fight at the 2007 Zone Six Championships in Botswana.Namibia’s team manager Elia Irimari was delighted with the result, saying that Indongo gave Chauke no chance.”Indongo came out firing and his fists were raining on Chauke.He was hitting from a distance, but all his punches found their target and landed well.Indongo was highly focused and although Chauke was more skilful, he could not outsmart Indongo,” he said.Namibia’s Immanuel Naindjala however lost his fight to Nicholas Okoth of Kenya, 16-11 on points.Naindjala started on the offensive, finding his target with his crisp jab, and after two rounds was leading 6-4 on points.Okoth however landed some heavy blows to Naindjala’s face as the fight progressed and finished stronger.By the third round the boxers were level 9-all on points, but Okoth overshadowed Naindjala in the final round to win the bout.It was a disappointing end to the tournament for Naindjala, who had high hopes of qualifying for the Olympics.He however could not match Okoth’s power and his decision to move up a weight from the 54kg category to the 57kg category could have contributed to his defeat.”I think Naindjala’s step-up in weight affected his performance and he could have done better in the 54kg category.I don’t know why he moved up, maybe he was looking for a new challenge,” Irimari said.ASHIVUTHI LOSES In the 54kg category Namibia’s Norbert Ashivuthi lost 15-10 on points to Tanzania’s Emiliani Polino.Ashivuthi came out on the offensive and took an early lead after picking up points with his fast combinations to head and body.Polino however fought back and by the second round both boxers were slugging it out toe-to-toe in the centre of the ring, driving the crowd wild with delight.The turning point however came in the third round when Ashivuthi had to take a standing eight count after receiving a heavy punch and although he fought back bravely, Polino held on for the victory.But despite the defeat it was a great performance by the inexperienced Ashivuthi who showed that he can still go far in the sport.Namibia’s remaining boxers in the tournament are now Indongo, Desmond Kasuto (69kg), Johannes Simon (51kg) and Tobias Munihango (91kg).The tournament continues today and tomorrow at the Unam Gymnasium with the finals scheduled for Saturday afternoon.Namibia Sport