Oshakati to go abuzz with boxing

OSHAKATI will be the venue of the Nedbank National Boxing Championships in early October.

Nedbank Namibia this week committed itself to a massive sponsorship of N$100 000 for the championships, which will be held between October 5 and 7. The championships will feature Namibia’s best amateur boxers who want to carve their way into the professional ranks and will be part of the Namibia Boxing Federation’s development programme.Namibia’s junior and senior boxers will square up for what will be the biggest boxing showpiece of the year.The co-ordinator of the event, Ambros Kandjii, said at the handover of the cheque this week that this event meant a lot for local boxers and thanked the sponsors for their interest in one of Namibia’s premier sporting codes.He said the boxers who will be in action will be expected to impress the national selectors for a place in the Namibian national boxing team.Boxing is according to Kandjii one of the few codes that has produced the goods on international level and its progress on development level has been phenomenal.”I regard Namibian boxing as one of the most unsung kings of African boxing.The talent is Namibian boxing is immense and this can be seen on the development level,” he said.In his message, Nedbank managing director, Bill Turton, said he was surprised to learn that boxing was the fastest growing sport in the country.”It is easy to understand why.It can increase one’s confidence and stamina and contributes effectively to stress relief and weight loss,” he said.He said although it is perceived as a dangerous sport, amateur boxing goes to great lengths to protect its athletes.Some of those measures are apparent – the obligatory wearing of a mouth guard, force-absorbent headgear, referee evaluations of a boxer throughout a round as well as pre- and post-bout physicals.He said a study in the United States showed that boxing ranked lower in the number of injuries than football, hockey, gymnastics and skating.The names of the boxers who will be in action at Oshakati will be revealed at a later stage.The championships will feature Namibia’s best amateur boxers who want to carve their way into the professional ranks and will be part of the Namibia Boxing Federation’s development programme.Namibia’s junior and senior boxers will square up for what will be the biggest boxing showpiece of the year.The co-ordinator of the event, Ambros Kandjii, said at the handover of the cheque this week that this event meant a lot for local boxers and thanked the sponsors for their interest in one of Namibia’s premier sporting codes.He said the boxers who will be in action will be expected to impress the national selectors for a place in the Namibian national boxing team.Boxing is according to Kandjii one of the few codes that has produced the goods on international level and its progress on development level has been phenomenal.”I regard Namibian boxing as one of the most unsung kings of African boxing.The talent is Namibian boxing is immense and this can be seen on the development level,” he said.In his message, Nedbank managing director, Bill Turton, said he was surprised to learn that boxing was the fastest growing sport in the country.”It is easy to understand why.It can increase one’s confidence and stamina and contributes effectively to stress relief and weight loss,” he said.He said although it is perceived as a dangerous sport, amateur boxing goes to great lengths to protect its athletes.Some of those measures are apparent – the obligatory wearing of a mouth guard, force-absorbent headgear, referee evaluations of a boxer throughout a round as well as pre- and post-bout physicals.He said a study in the United States showed that boxing ranked lower in the number of injuries than football, hockey, gymnastics and skating.The names of the boxers who will be in action at Oshakati will be revealed at a later stage.