Namibian pugilist ‘The Beast’ to redeem himself 

Namibian boxer Mateus ‘The Beast’ Heita will have another opportunity to reclaim his position in the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) world ranking on 8 November, when he fights Clement Leko from Benin at the Windhoek Country Club.

The WBO title bouts penciled for the capital will be headlined by Heita, who recently fought competitively at the Madison Square Garden in New York but failed to live up to expectations against American Bruce Carrington for the World Boxing Council interim featherweight world title.

Speaking to Desert FM recently, renowned boxing promoter Nestor Tobias noted that Namibians have followed their boxers’ top international fights. He added that after a series of undesired results abroad, the time has come for those boxers to seek redemption on home soil.

“It is now time for boxing fans to see their boxers on home turf. That is why we themed the night ‘WBO Africa Titles Redemption’. Heita lost but he put up a great fight, and certainly put Namibia’s name on the world map,” Tobias said.

“He made a name for himself. That was a very good performance from The Beast.”

Tobias added that losing often means people only remember a boxer by their last fight. He explained that ‘redemption’ signifies returning to the drawing board, digging deep and coming back as a warrior.

“Paulus ‘John John’ Ndjolonimus is another unfortunate boxer who lost in Germany but his loss was simply a daylight robbery. The Germans planned very well because they knew Ndjolonimus is a hard puncher and great fighter.

“He was deducted a point in the first round, another deduction in round three and again in round five. That is something that I have never seen before. The deduction followed in round five. Over ten rounds, you lose six points. There is no way you can win a fight with those deductions,” Tobias added.

He said the duo are quality boxers, and that it is time to give them the opportunity to reclaim their rightful places in the world ranking.

“They must get the win on their cards come 8 November. There is no turning back,” he said.

Heita will come up against Leko from Benin for the vacant WBO Africa featherweight title.

“Leko is an experienced fighter, just the right guy for The Beast to find himself and roar towards becoming a world champion.”

Ndjolonimus, who lost a controversial fight in Germany on 19 July against Simon Libichhuber, will come up against the dangerous Snamiso Ntuli from South Africa for the vacant WBO Africa super middleweight title over 12 rounds.

“He must win the fight, with his experience and being known for punching hard. It is another fight not to be missed,” stressed Tobias.

The two boxers were supposed to have traded blows in April this year but Ndjolonimus picked up a terrible flu that forced him to bow out.

The undefeated Harry Simon Jr, son of Harry Simon – Namibia’s first world champion – will face the very experienced Paul Kamanga from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kamanga is based in neighboring South Africa.

The international welterweight 10 round bout will be promoted by MTC Sunshine under the banner ‘No Pain No Gain’.

“This will be one of the biggest fights of the year and the most attractive fight of the year. The tickets will go for N$200 general and VIP table seating for 10 guests will go for N$ 20 000.

“We thank our main sponsor Mobile Telecommunications Limited and our co-sponsor PstBet for their great support and I believe with more sponsors we will produce many fighters to represent our beloved country on the international level,” Tobias said.

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