Windhoek: Namibia’s super middleweight boxer Paulinus ‘Jon Jon’ Ndjolonimus successfully retained the World Boxing Organization (WBO) African Super Middleweight title, which he has held since April 2021. The Namibian boxer, with an impressive record of 18 fights and 18 wins, 16 of which came by knockout, added another name to his list of knock-outs when he floored Abubakar Mubarak of Ghana in the ninth-round of their bout in Windhoek on Saturday.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Mubarak came into the fight undefeated, boasting a record of 12 fights and 12 wins, nine of which were by knockout. His undefeated record was challenged by a well-drilled Ndjolonimus, who secured his place among the KO elites, improving his record to 19 wins, 17 of them by knockout. With this victory, Ndjolonimus successfully defended his title for the fourth time since winning the WBO Africa super middleweight vacant title against fellow Namibian, Anthony Jarmann in April 2021.
Meanwhile, another boxer who also featured at the Yo
ur Vote Counts Boxing Bonanza at the Windhoek Country Club was Jeremiah Nakathila, who defeated Tafazwa Nushando of Zimbabwe in an eight-round international lightweight bout. Nakathila put his opponent to the canvas with a first-round knock-out.
Mateus ‘The Beast’ Heita also featured in the elite category and extended his undefeated streak to 14 after putting up an impressive fight that saw him win the six-round bout with a fifth-round technical knockout over Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Biningu. With that win, Heita was crowned the new WBO Africa Featherweight Champion.
In another bout on the night, Jonathan Kasheeta, who has a record of four fights and four wins with one knockout, successfully won his first-ever title when he defeated Nestor Thomas for the second time this year. His second win against the same opponent saw him being crowned the new Namibian bantamweight champion. The win came on a split decision, as two judges scored in his favour while one judge scored against him.
In the earlier undercard fights
of the evening, some of the country’s up-and-coming boxers displayed good fighting skills, with the likes of Alfeus Shaanika winning points against Johannes Frela, Martin Mukungu winning his bout against Nicanor Halwendo with a third-round knock-out, while Frederick Nghutenanye also dominated his opponent Herman John with a second-round knock-out as the referee stopped the fight just 57 seconds into that round.