Fillipus ‘Energy’ Nghitumbwa thrust his name into the world-title conversation with an emphatic first-round stoppage of former world champion Yukinori Oguni of Japan in Yokohama on Sunday.
The impressive victory leverages the Namibian’s chances of a shot at a super-bantamweight world title, with his rating expected to rise significantly.
He ranks 12th globally, but should move into the top 10 with the Oguni result, which included three knock-downs before the referee halted proceedings.
“This win is very important as it has brought us closer to the world title. It’s not easy to get an opportunity to fight for the world title.
“We did it before and we will do it again. It take long to put someone in that position, but we will get there,” Nghitumbwa’s trainer and promoter, Nestor Tobias, said yesterday.
Nghitumbwa needed the statement win after falling short on his debut fight abroad in May last year, when he controversially lost the WBO Global super bantamweight strap to Filipino John Riel Casimero by a unanimous decision in Manila.
Ironically, Casimero, who fought to a technical draw with Oguni last October, was on the same card arranged by Treasure Boxing Promotion.
Casimero failed to make weight against American Saul Sanchez in their bout, but the Filipino three-division champion stopped his rival inside the first round.
Both Casimero and Nghitumbwa are angling for a date with Japan’s pound-for-pound king, Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue.
Nghitumbwa’s camp indicated they would also like a Casimero rematch.
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