‘Special One’ wins WBO Africa title

Super featherweight boxer Flame ‘Special One’ Nangolo was crowned the new World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Africa Super Featherweight champion on Saturday night after outclassing Felix Ajoma of Ghana.

The fight, held at the Roman Catholic Hall in Windhoek, was promoted by AC Boxing Sport and Entertainment.

The Namibian boxer, boasting a record of 12 fights and 12 wins, including four by knockout, added yet another victory to his tally, overwhelming Ajoma with fast jabs and body shots the Ghanaian struggled to withstand.

In the fourth round Ajoma, who has a record of 23 fights with 20 wins, two losses, and one draw, 17 of which came via knockout, could not cope with Nangolo’s speed and precision and was knocked out just two minutes into the round. Ajoma was dropped by a hook to the stomach and failed to beat the referee’s count.

Speaking to the media after the fight, Nangolo said winning titles has always been his dream and that securing a WBO belt motivates him to work even harder.

“I am very happy to have won this title, and as I have mentioned since my uncle (Imms Moses) introduced me to the sport, my goal has always been to win titles. I will keep working hard until I get a shot at the world title,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the supporting bouts, Shikukuta Jona recorded a victory against Hango Petrus with a stoppage in the second round of their four-round fight.

Jonas Jonas from Kambinda Boxing at Walvis Bay outperformed his opponent, Paulus Amavila from AC Boxing Gym, in another four-round bout, with two of the three judges scoring in his favour, 39-37, while the third judge scored 36-40 in Amavila’s favour.

Robert Ndelelwa faced debutant Nicanor Mungonena from Otavi’s Knockout Boxing Club.

The debutant put forth a strong effort in their four-round match, but the judges’ scorecards reflected a split decision, with one judge scoring it a draw at 38-38, while the others scored it 39-37 and 40-36, resulting in Mungonena losing his first professional fight, while Ndelelwa marked his third win out of six professional bouts.

Shanyengange Shanyengange, from Ondangwa’s Chris Junior Boxing Gym, battled against more experienced Hafeni Ngesheya.

The Ondangwa-based boxer pushed Ngesheya hard, and in the third round, Shanyengange injured his shoulder, prompting doctors to recommend stopping the fight after 1:44 seconds, leading to a technical draw being declared.

In another highlight, Namibia’s knockout artist, Walter ‘The Executioner’ Kautondoka, made a return to the ring after a five-year hiatus, decisively defeating Liberty Muwani from Zimbabwe with a knockout in the first round.

Muwani appeared intimidated, managing to withstand only one minute and 30 seconds before Kautondoka claimed victory effortlessly.

Charles Shinima outperformed his opponent, Dickson Said from Malawi. Said consistently evaded Shinima during the first round, but with 10 seconds remaining in that round, Shinima dropped him, although Said managed to beat the count.

In the second round, Shinima knocked his opponent down twice more, yet continued to rise.

In the third round, Shinima dropped Said once again, and as the bout wore on, the referee intervened to stop the fight due to the one-sided nature of the contest.

Harry Simon Junior also achieved another win in his career, defeating Tranos Zihove of Zimbabwe by technical knockout after two rounds of boxing.