Former champion now boosts boxers

NAMIBIA had a very rare breed of what boxing analysts, called ‘scientific boxers’, and former World Boxing Association Pan-African junior welterweight champion Jason ‘Taks’ Naule fitted this bill perfectly.

The Windhoek-born retired pugilist, who used to juggle between boxing and soccer during the early stages of his career, considers himself as someone who concentrated on out-thinking and out-boxing an opponent rather than just relying on one big puncher.

Explains Naule: “I was not really a big puncher, because I was more clinical.

“I was very passionate about boxing and enjoyed my time spent inside the ring. My philosophy was to punch my opponent as much as possible by not allowing him to touch me . . .”

Naule was a 14-year-old pupil at Namutoni Primary School at Katutura when he chose boxing over soccer before he continued as a cadet at the Central Boxing Club and went on to participate as a junior in the Africa Zone Six Championships in South Africa.

After a very successful career at junior national level, during which he won all his fights, he made a great start to his professional career in 2004 with Daniel ‘Open Fire’ Kashela, which saw him get another one over his childhood opponent with a unanimous decision.

“I am proud to say I was among the first fighters who started professional boxing under the Nestor Sunshine Tobias Boxing and Fitness Gym, which will rightfully qualify me as one of the pioneers of professional boxing in Namibia.

“Those were very difficult years. We only fought for the love of the sport, because there was no money at the time. I was very passionate about the sport and didn’t really worry about what I was going to earn, because Nestor (Tobias) was just on his own with no sponsor,” he says.

Naule didn’t look back after his maiden professional fight against Kasheela and went on to build an impressive record of 12 wins and five loses (towards the end of his career) from 17 bouts, with his winning streak ending after defeating Elson Muhampi in 2007.

“I regret not having taken the game very seriously at the beginning . . .

“I think I could have also done better by taking my education seriously. Having become a boxer made me completely forget that there was a life after boxing,” he says.

All was going well for Naule in the professional arena before he tasted his first defeat against Kaizer Mabuza in 2008, which subsequently led to a four-fight losing streak.

This finally saw him deciding to hang up his boxing gloves after losing to Tommy Hango in 2010.

Interestingly, most of his fights were against opponents from neighbouring South Africa.

In fact, he tasted defeat twice against Mabuza with the first loss recorded in March, while the rematch was staged in August in 2008.

The retired boxer insisted he was not worried about the lack of knock-outs during his rather impressive boxing career which saw him registering many technical knock-outs though.