Nestor hopes to salvage Energy’s progress

Boxing
  • 1 Day Ago
Fillipus Nghitumbwa won his title fight against Hassan Milanzi of Zimbabwe by second-round knockout on Saturday, but he lost his WBO Africa super bantamweight title after failing to make the weight the previous day.

In the main bout of the MTC Sunshine Promotions’ Dr Sam Nujoma Boxing Bonanza at a packed Windhoek Showgrounds, Nghitumbwa already put Milanzi down with a vicious body punch in the first round. The Zimbabwean was dropped again early in the second round in a barrage of punches and although he beat the count, the referee put an end to the fight.

The Namibian, nicknamed “Energy”, was however stripped of his title after failing to make the 55.3 kg weight limit at the official weigh-in, and with Hassan losing, the title has now become vacant.

The promoter Nestor Tobias told the media Nghitumbwa failed to make the weight due to a misunderstanding. “When a boxer fails to make the weight limit he gets a two-hour period to try and reduce his weight. So Energy went out for a run to try and make the weight, but then someone told the supervisor he is not coming back. That was incorrect and we are still trying to find out who said that, but now, unfortunately, he has lost his African title,” he said.

“It’s a big disappointment and I’m not sure why he failed to make the weight,. Energy is a world-class fighter, so we will stand by him and I’m confident he will become a world champion,” Tobias said.

Nghitumbwa was ranked ninth in the world by the WBO and 13th by the WBC before the fight.

Tobias said Nghitumbwa wants to continue fighting in the super bantamweight division, and his camp wants to keep his world rating, “so we will talk to both bodies and explain what happened. It won’t be easy, but he’s a quality boxer and I hope he will maintain his world rating and get a mandatory world title fight in the near future.”