Jeremiah Nakathila – champion in the making

Namibia’s undefeated and best junior lightweight champion, Jeremiah Nakathila, might not be a world champion yet, but his presence in the ring has already instilled fear in his opponents in Namibia and across the continent.

According to his trainer and promoter Nestor Tobias he is in a class of his own.

“All the boxers in his division have refused to get into the ring with him because this kid is dangerous and I don’t blame anyone for avoiding him at all cost. Even those who call themselves champions refuse to face him,” he said.

“The boy has a big heart, he is skilful, powerful and has incredible power and most importantly he is hungry for success and committed to the sport of boxing. We have been monitoring his progress and he is definitely a prospect for the future and yes we have big plans for him, like we have for every boxer in our academy,” he added.

“Nakathila turned professional in 2013 and is still undefeated after nine fights. I have been grooming him and waiting for the right time to allow him to explode and we feel that the time is right now for him to aim for higher honours,” he said.

In his last three fights, Nakathila defeated very good boxers like Wilson Masamba, who gave Albinus Felesianu a hell of a fight over 12 rounds but it took only 35 seconds for Nakathila to knock him out, Paul Magxicani and Immanuel Andreki.

“Jeremiah shows great maturity and great boxing ability that he’s a world class fighter in the making, blessed with a strong chin and big heart. The heart makes a boxer, it’s a natural thing. No promoter, manager, coach or fan can make a boxer unless he has a big heart for boxing, that’s the only way he can make it on the bigger stage. Most athletes fail because they don’t have the heart,” Tobias said.

“I’m highly motivated by his discipline and work rate. There’s never a day that we have to wait upon his arrival at the gym, he’s always the first to get there. I believe being a member of the Namibian police force helps in disciplining him. We are planning his next fight against a top opponent on the 26 March Independence Bonanza bill. The main bout will see Julius “Blue Machine” Indongo defending his WBO Africa junior welterweight title against Allan Kamote of Tanzania.

“Boxing is an interesting sport and only the toughest survive, that’s why when some fail. They try blaming somebody and that’s the worst excuse you can get because boxers are the only ones who can make a difference in their careers by dedication and hard work. We are inviting all the boxing fans to come in big numbers to support our future world champion and other boxers in action,” Tobias said.

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