Former world lightweight champion Paulus “The Hitman” Moses and undefeated featherweight Lukas “Desert Storm” Sakaria, both from Namibia, are now ranked in the top three of the WBO’s world ratings for the month of September. Moses was ranked No. 4 in August while Lukas was ranked No. 5.
“The No. 3 position is a great spot because one of two things can happen,” said promoter Nestor Tobias. “Usually the sanctioning body will allow the No. 1 and 2 or even 3 to fight for a final eliminator, or the current champion can pick the highest ranked fighter for a voluntary title defence.”
In the case of the lightweight division, British champion Terry Flanagan is injured and talks are that he might move up a weight class, which will leave Moses (40-3, 25 KO’s) and hard-hitting Ray Beltrán (34-7-1, 21 KO’s) to fight for the vacant title.
If Flanagan makes no move, Moses vs. Beltrán could be a final eliminator bout as No. 2 Roman Andreev of Russia is scheduled to fight for the IBF eliminator in December.
This could be another world title shot for Moses, one of Africa’s greatest fighters.
In the featherweight division, Mexican world champion Óscar Valdez recently defeated Philippines’ Genesis Servania in his voluntary title defense fight and must make his mandatory title defense next.
Lukas (20-0, 14 KO’s) and Philippines’ Mark Magsayo (17-0, 13 KO’s), who are respectively ranked No. 2 and No. 3, are the likely next contenders as top ranked American Joseph Diaz, following his recent victory, has now been declared the mandatory challenger for the WBC title, held by the super-talented Gary Russell Jr. of the United States.
Meanwhile, Walter “The Executioner” Kautondokwa (15-0, 14 KO’s) maintains his rating at No. 7 in the WBO middleweight division. He will step into the ring in October to defend his WBO Africa middleweight title.
Jeremiah “No Respect” Nakathila (13-1, 9 KO’s) has re-entered the WBO rankings and is currently No. 9. He remains one of Namibia’s most promising prospects and an exciting talent to watch for the future.
Julius “The Blue Machine” Indongo (22-1, 14 KO’s), who recently lost to new pound for pound king Terence Crawford, remains highly rated by the top three sanctioning bodies.
The WBA ranks him 6th, the IBF places him 8th and WBC has him at 11th and he is also expected back in the WBO ratings by next month. Indongo, Lukas, Nakathila, Kautondokwa and Moses are the only Namibian boxers ranked in the world right now.
“I am extremely happy with the ratings because serious boxing is all about ratings,” Tobias notes. “f you are not in there, nobody will take you seriously. In October, the plan is to get one more boxer in the form of Mike Shonena in the WBO welterweight ratings. Shonena will be stepping into the ring in October to challenge for the vacant WBO Africa welterweight title. He is a strong and powerful puncher and one for the future.”
–Newera.com
