WILBERFORCE “Black Mamba” Shihepo will have a ‘last chance’ to resurrect his career when he takes on Callum Johnson of England for the vacant Commonwealth light heavyweight title in Manchester 24 September.
At one stage Shihepo was rated as one of Namibia’s best boxing prospects but his career has blown hot and cold over the past few years and according to trainer Nestor Tobias this could be his last chance to resurrect his career and keep his world title hopes alive.
“Force is a talented boxer but through all these years he has been his own biggest enemy. He was never serious enough but now he knows what’s at stake. This is a last chance for him to make it – it’s a do or die fight and he will have to win it to still have a chance to get a world title fight,” he said.
Now aged 33, Shihepo has a patchy professional record of 31 fights, 23 wins (eight by knock out) and eight defeats, while his record over the past few years has not been that impressive.
He has only fought five fights over the past four years, of which he lost two – against Arthur Abraham of Germany for the WBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title, and against Johnny Muller of South Africa for the WBC International Silver light heavyweight title.
He was however unlucky in both those defeats – losing a unanimous points decision against Abraham, although the fight seemed to be much closer, and then a split decision against Muller, in a fight that could have gone either way.
He has not been very active lately with his last fight coming in December last year when he KO’d Maike Gogoda of Malawi in the second round.
Tobias was however unconcerned about his inactivity, saying that Shihepo was fit and raring to go.
“He was scheduled to fight in Germany last month but the opponent withdrew, but the Force has been training for the past three months now so he is fit and ready for the fight,” he said, adding that Shihepo had a good chance against Johnson.
“He always has a chance when he goes into the ring – he is strong, he has a hard punch and he is not scared or intimidated by anyone. He is also more disciplined now and he knows that time is not on his side anymore,” he said.
The 31-year-old Johnson will however provide stiff opposition in front of his home town fans at the Manchester Arena. He is still unbeaten after 15 professional fights of which 10 came via knock out.
He has been in impressive form this year, winning two fights by technical knockout against compatriot Richard Horton and Norbert Szekeres of Hungary.
Tobias however said that Johnson was not as experienced as Shihepo.
“Johnson is a good boxer but he hasn’t fought the calibre of boxers that Force has, while Force is also more experienced. Another factor weighing against him is that he has only fought at home while the Force has often fought abroad,” he said.
Tobias said that a victory would give Shihepo a good chance to get a crack at he world title.
“If you win the Commonwealth title then you will immediately be ranked in the top 15 by all the leading boxing organisations. And once you are in the top 15 your chances of getting a world title shot are much stronger,” he said.
Despite his age, Tobias said that Shihepo could still make it to the top.
“Force has got a good record and his body is still fine. Generally, Namibian boxers turn professional when they are a bit older, but they have the heart and they are born fighters,” he said.
