NATANAEL ‘Natty’ Kakololo says fighting for the vacant World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Featherweight Intercontinental title next month presents the biggest opportunity of his career.
The current African Boxing Union Featherweight champion (13-1-1) is optimistic about his chances against unbeaten Ukrainian Oleg Malinovskyi (27-0) in Kyiv on 12 June.
An excited Kakololo intends to make his debut fight abroad a memorable one.
“This is a massive opportunity for me. Oleg is a great and strong opponent. He is unbeaten, and it is now my mission to give him his first loss and claim a very strong title that will put me in the top-15 world ratings, which is important for my career,” Kakololo says.
“I look forward to the fight, and with the support of the Namibian boxing nation I have nothing to fear. I want to thank my team, my promoter, and our sponsor, MTC, for making this opportunity possible,” he says.
Since suffering his only career defeat in 2015, Kakololo has gone on an impressive eight-fight winning streak.
However, his camp knows that getting past Malinovskyi is a daunting challenge.
A lethal southpaw, Malinovskyi not only has home advantage, but massive experience as well.
Promoter Kiriat Kamanya from MTC Salute Boxing says the fight will determine whether Kakolo “has the pedigree to compete with the very best in this division”.
Kakololo may be less experienced, but “he has all the fire power in his arsenal to cause a major upset and win this fight away from home”.
Victory for the Namibian will earn him entry to the top-15 WBO world ratings.
“This is a big test for Kakololo. He has impressed me in his last eight fights, and I promised to get him a WBO title fight which we have now delivered,” Kamanya says.
“It is always tough fighting away from home, but he is a brave fighter. I am confident he will win this fight for his country, because those who went before him in boxing have built a great name for Namibian boxing,” his promoter says.
–namibian.com.na
