Pohamba hails champion boxers

PRESIDENT Hifikepunye Pohamba has hailed Namibian boxers who successfully defended their titles at the weekend, saying they have done the country proud.

Pohamba said he was directed by Government to host a dinner in honour of the Namibian boxers who dispatched their opponents in fights that were witnessed by close to 5 000 boxing fans at the Windhoek Country Club on Saturday. Pohamba said the success of the boxers is the success of the whole nation, adding that Namibia is extremely fortunate to produce world champions.The boxers present were the current WBA lightweight world champion, Paulus ‘The Hitman’ Moses, WBO African lightweight champion Jatoorora ‘The Sting’ Tjingaveta and WBA Pan-African welterweight champion Betuel ‘The Unstoppable’ Uushona.Pohamba said a Namibian (Moses) managed to beat a boxer from a political and economic powerhouse such as Japan, which shows that Namibia is blessed with talent and can only grow stronger in the sport of boxing.Pohamba said: ‘He was hit by the Hitman,’ referring to Japanese boxer Takehiro Shimada, who lost by unanimous decision against Moses in their world title fight. Moses admitted that he was scared to lose the title the night before the fight, but managed to land it after going the full 12 rounds.’It is not easy to fight at home. It was not easy for me in the ring as well because I was afraid to make a mistake. I thought that if I lost, the whole nation would be disappointed. I did not sleep on Friday night before the fight because there were a lot of thoughts going through my head,’ he said.He also praised Shimada for his great fighting spirit.’I watched him a lot and I was afraid that he would catch me with his dangerous right, so I just kept my left up to avoid anything coming from it,’ he said.He thanked the Government, the sponsors and all his fans who contributed to his first title defence, which was also the first-ever world title fight held on Namibian soil.Shimada asked for a re-match against the Namibian and that fight will possibly be held later this year.Boxing promoter and trainer Nestor Tobias expressed appreciation of the support they received from Government through the Directorate of Sport and all the sponsors who contributed to make it a success.He called on the private sector to invest in boxing because it has a lot of potential.He promised the President that by next year this time, Namibia will have three world champions.At the same event, Minister of Safety and Security Nickey Iyambo challenged the Namibian Defence Force and the Namibian Police to produce more boxers who could ultimately become world champions.Boxing president and chairman of the boxing and wrestling controlling body, Kelly Nghixulifya, asked the Ministry of Sport to be at the forefront of organising events of such magnitude in future.He said a bigger venue is needed in future and the ministry should play a part in organising such events as they are of national interest. corry@namibian.com.na