Flame, Bulelo on top of their game

Super welterweight Flame Nangolo maintained his unbeaten professional record.
Tielman Van Lill
The Rising Stars boxing tournament of AC Boxing Promotions on Saturday evening at the NamPower hall in Windhoek had just the right ingredients to bring boxing fans to their feet.

The main pre-fight between Hedison “Bulelo” Nhgipondoka and Usko Rehobeam was definitely the highlight of the night. The much talked about encounter between in the welterweight division (66.68 kilograms) over ten rounds produced top-class action.

The two boxers tackled each other from the first bell and the meeting soon turned into a wild street fight. Technically correct boxing soon took a back seat as the wild volleys of blows showed how the boxers really feel about each other.

After ten rounds, the 40-year-old Bulelo from Ondangwa was unanimously declared the winner by the judges. Bulelo not only won the fighting talk at the media event last Thursday, but also the one in the ring that mattered.

Flame too hot to handle

The main fight between Flame “The Special One” Nangolo and Johnny Herman turned out to be one-way traffic for the African Boxing Union (ABU) super welterweight champion.

Nangolo hit his inexperienced opponent at will with good combinations and often rocked his legs with his cannon shot left hand.

Herman already had to hear the count in the first round after Nangola knocked him down. The second and final round followed exactly the same pattern with Herman having no answer to Nangola’s ingenuity.

With a few seconds left in the second, Nangola shook Herman again and had him out on his feet with another explosive volley of blows.

Herman’s corner threw in the towel and conceded the technical knockout. This is Flame’s tenth professional fight and tenth victory.

Imms “AC” Moses’ tournament was excellently organized and well supported by boxing enthusiasts and celebrities, including the minister of sports. Moses’ passion for boxing and the development of young talent cannot be overlooked. He deserves applause and more support for his work.

Saturday’s other results:

Super lightweight (4 rounds): Salom Petrus beat Andreas Endjala.

Flyweight (4 rounds): Jonatha Kasheeta won on points against Tobias Amunyela.

Lightweight (6 rounds): Hafeni Ngesheya wins by TKO over Steven Shilomboleni.

Lightweight (4 rounds): Ruaan Rispel wins by points against Sakaria Kadjambanga.

– tielman@republikein.com.na