Tjingaveta goes for title defence

NAMIBIA’S World Boxing Organisation (WBO) lightweight Africa champion Jatoorora Tjingaveta says he sees no chance of relinquishing his belt when he takes on South Africa’s Irvin Buhlalu in his second title defence later this month.

The Namibian will feature in the main bout on a night that will see several other Namibian fighters taking on various foreign opponents.Namibia’s World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight world champion, Paulus ‘Hitman’ Moses, will also make an appearance on the night, but will go up against five opponents in sparring sessions to prepare for his title defence in the United States of America early next year.Tjingaveta told journalists this week that he was ready to face any opponent in his class and would not relinquish his title that easy, especially when fighting on home soil.’My preparations are great and I am happy with my form at the moment. I am ready for any challenge, but all I know is that I am going to finish the fight as the champion still,’ he said.Tjingaveta defended his title against fellow countryman Paulus Kapia earlier this year and gave him a seventh-round knockout (KO) to the delight of many of his fans in what was supposed to be a 12-rounder.Tjingaveta will face an experienced fighter in Buhlalu, who has 32 fights to his credit, of which 24 are wins, while he has lost seven and drawn one.Tjingaveta has an outstanding record of 12 wins from 14 fights and only two losses in his professional career.The Namibian will have home-ground advantage and is expected to pull this one through, despite the fact that his opponent has spent more rounds in the ring than him.Moses will engage Namibian professional boxers Paulus Ali Nuumbembe and Tyson Uushona in sparring sessions that will also involve three South African boxers.His trainer, promoter and manager, Nestor Tobias, said Moses would only be allowed to fight 10 rounds on the night, which will serve as preparation for his world title fight against Mexico’s Marco Antonio Barrera early next year.’He is expected to fight at least three times a year as a champion. He has already fought twice and this will be his third time and it will make up for that. It is also good for him to stay in touch with the real conditions in the ring, apart from just training for his world title defence,’ said Tobias. On the same night, Namibia’s newfound bantamweight pro fighter, Immanuel ‘Imms’ Naindjala, once again steps into the ring just a few weeks after he made his debut in the paid ranks, when he takes on countryman Mateus Kaandala. Kaandala makes his pro debut and faces an uphill battle against an electric Naindjala who at the weekend beat Daniel Ausiku with a third-round technical knockout (TKO).In other fights, Abnerk Shidjuu will go up against an experienced South African boxer in Ronald Parks in the flyweight division over six rounds. Despite having fought 20 times, Parks has a poor record as he has lost 10 of those fights, won five and drawn five. Shidjuu, who this week promised that he would one day become a world champion, has 10 fights, six wins, two losses and two draws.Namibia’s light heavyweight champion Vikapita ‘Beast Master’ Meroro will aim at extending his record when he takes on South Africa’s Ben Moakamela. Meroro has only lost once and boasts a record of 18 fights, of which 17 are wins.The inexperienced Namibian lightweight Martin Haikali will square up against the extremely adept Daniel Botma, who has a record of 29 fights, 13 wins and 15 losses. Haikali, who is rated as one of the future domestic champions in the lightweight ranks, has won three and lost the other three of his six fights to date. Tobias said the event will be staged at the Windhoek Country Club Resort. The ticket prices will be announced later.corry@namibian.com.na