Walter Kautondokwa remained undefeated and retained his WBO Africa middleweight title with fifth-round stoppage of Argentina’s Bili Godoy in the main event of a stacked card in Windhoek on Tuesday night.
Godoy’s night ended early, but he has nothing to be ashamed of. The Argentine showed boxing skills and wasn’t afraid to trade with his heavier-handed foe. But the Namibian’s powerful blows eventually took their toll.
Kautondokwa pinned Godoy to the ropes in the third, wailing away until the underdog managed to claw his way out of trouble. The champion continued to land heavy combinations in the fourth. Godoy gamely fired back but he didn’t quite carry the same arsenal as his opponent. It showed in the fifth, when Kautondokwa landed the finishing blows.
Kautondokwa sent Godoy to the canvas with a left hook in that round. Godoy beat the count, referee Deon Duarte wisely put an end to the fight.
Kautondokwa now runs his record to an impressive 17-0 (16 KOs). He’s in line to meet WBO world middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, assuming he gets by former titlist Martin Murray in June. Godoy drops to 46-5 (17 KOs).
Namibia triumphed over Ghana on the card’s co-feature. Jeremiah Nakathila turned in a downright scary performance, stopping a game Patrick Okine from in four exciting rounds to retain his WBO Africa junior lightweight title.
There were some scary moments as Nakathila knocked Okine through the ropes and out of the ring. Okine managed to beat the mandatory 20-second count to get back in the ring, but didn’t appear to have his wits about him, forcing the fight’s stoppage.
Okine gave as good as he got throughout the fight, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. After a hotly-contested first, Nakathila seized control. The Ghanaian was forced to clinch as the Namibian unloaded power punches behind his stiff right.
Nakathila closed the show with his combinations in the fourth, concluded by a powerful right cross. Official time of the stoppage was 1:24.
Mikka Shonena dispatched Tanzania’s Said Yazidu of Tanzania in two rounds to retain his WBO Africa welterweight title.
Harry Simon Junior resembled a chip off the old block as he notched a third-round TKO of Malawi’s Gerson Veata in lightweight action.
A single left hook did the trick in the third, forcing the fight’s end at 1:36 of the stanza.
Paulinus Paulus maintained his unbeaten record with a first-round TKO over Malawi’s Misanjo Charles Official time was 1:25.
Other Results:
Max Ipinge beat Limbani Powder of Malawi via four-round unanimous decision in a junior middleweight fight (40-36, 39-37, and 39-37).
Timoteus Shuulula beat Tinkhani Kamanga of Malawi via third-round TKO in a featherweight fight.
Hedison Nghipondoka beat Theo Ben Kativa on points (39-37, 40-36, and 40-37) in a junior middleweight fight.
Photo Credit: Helge Schutz
