Namibian featherweight title fight

SIEGFRIED Kaperu and Paulus Kapia will fight each other in a national featherweight title fight in Swakopmund next Saturday.

They will top the bill of a professional boxing tournament to be sponsored by Telecom, which will see a total of eight fights at the Swakopmund Hotel and Entertainment Centre. Namibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias said that this would be the first time that a professional tournament will take place in Namibia, involving only Namibian fighters.”In the past we had to fly in South African boxers, but professional boxing has grown to such an extent that we can now host an all-Namibian tournament,” he said.Tobias added that it was only the second time that a national title fight will be held in Namibia, following the first welterweight title fight between Ali Nuumbembe and Tyson Uushona in October, 2005.Uushona won a split decision on points to become Namibia’s welterweight champion.Nuumbembe however built up a fine ranking from his base in the UK and in February beat Kevin Anderson on points to win the Commonwealth welterweight title.”This title fight will be a great opportunity for both boxers.The winner will become the national champion, which will open further doors for him,” he said.Kaperu is the more experienced boxer with a record of 13 professional fights, 10 wins and three defeats.Kapia has a record of five wins and one defeat from six professional fights.In their last fights in March, Kapia beat compatriot Martin Haikali on points over four rounds, while Kaperu beat South Africas Siyabulela Ziqula on points over six rounds.The Telecom Tournament will see several fighters making their professional debuts.Amongst these are Namibia’s former Zone Six bantamweight champion and Olympian Paulus Ambunda and Zone Six silver medallist Gottlieb Ndokosho.Tobias also announced that Namibia’s WBA Intercontinental Lightweight champion, Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses, will fight Andrei Kudriavtsev in a world title eliminator in August.The fight will take place in front of Kudriavtsev’s home fans in Donetsk, Ukraine, on August 21 and the winner will receive a number one ranking by the WBA and become a mandatory challenger for the world title.According to the WBA’s latest rankings, Moses is ranked sixth in the world, while Kudriavtsev is ranked 12th in the world.Tobias said he was sure that Moses would win the fight.”I saw Kudriavtsev fight in the Ukraine and he did not impress me too much.Moses is the better fighter and I am sure he will win the fight,” he said.Three other Namibian boxers will be in action at a professional tournament in Lubango, Angola, this coming Saturday, June 23.They are Willbeforce Shihepo, Tommy Hango and Vikapita Meroro.The Super Middleweight Shihepo has won 11 of his 14 professional fights to date and according to Tobias, has another fight lined up in July.”Wilbeforce will fight a South African opponent in Johannesburg on July 5 and the fight will be screened live on SuperSport,” he said.namibiasport.com.naNamibian boxing promoter Nestor Tobias said that this would be the first time that a professional tournament will take place in Namibia, involving only Namibian fighters.”In the past we had to fly in South African boxers, but professional boxing has grown to such an extent that we can now host an all-Namibian tournament,” he said.Tobias added that it was only the second time that a national title fight will be held in Namibia, following the first welterweight title fight between Ali Nuumbembe and Tyson Uushona in October, 2005.Uushona won a split decision on points to become Namibia’s welterweight champion.Nuumbembe however built up a fine ranking from his base in the UK and in February beat Kevin Anderson on points to win the Commonwealth welterweight title.”This title fight will be a great opportunity for both boxers.The winner will become the national champion, which will open further doors for him,” he said.Kaperu is the more experienced boxer with a record of 13 professional fights, 10 wins and three defeats.Kapia has a record of five wins and one defeat from six professional fights.In their last fights in March, Kapia beat compatriot Martin Haikali on points over four rounds, while Kaperu beat South Africas Siyabulela Ziqula on points over six rounds.The Telecom Tournament will see several fighters making their professional debuts.Amongst these are Namibia’s former Zone Six bantamweight champion and Olympian Paulus Ambunda and Zone Six silver medallist Gottlieb Ndokosho.Tobias also announced that Namibia’s WBA Intercontinental Lightweight champion, Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses, will fight Andrei Kudriavtsev in a world title eliminator in August.The fight will take place in front of Kudriavtsev’s home fans in Donetsk, Ukraine, on August 21 and the winner will receive a number one ranking by the WBA and become a mandatory challenger for the world title.According to the WBA’s latest rankings, Moses is ranked sixth in the world, while Kudriavtsev is ranked 12th in the world.Tobias said he was sure that Moses would win the fight.”I saw Kudriavtsev fight in the Ukraine and he did not impress me too much.Moses is the better fighter and I am sure he will win the fight,” he said.Three other Namibian boxers will be in action at a professional tournament in Lubango, Angola, this coming Saturday, June 23.They are Willbeforce Shihepo, Tommy Hango and Vikapita Meroro.The Super Middleweight Shihepo has won 11 of his 14 professional fights to date and according to Tobias, has another fight lined up in July.”Wilbeforce will fight a South African opponent in Johannesburg on July 5 and the fight will be screened live on SuperSport,” he said.namibiasport.com.na