Ambunda to defend title against Australian

Namibia’s International Boxing Organisation (IBO) super bantamweight world champion, Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda, will defend his title against Australian Jason Cooper on December 5. That is if information on leading boxing website boxrec is to be believed. The fight has been scheduled on the website for the better part of this month and looks to be a surety given that the MTC Nestor Sunshine Academy, under whom Ambunda fights, traditionally stages a bonanza in December. Should the fight become reality, it would be Ambunda’s first defence since he claimed the world title when he beat Argentina’s Leandro David Esperante in August. The Namibian had won the title on a split decision after a pulsating 12 rounds that saw Ambunda sensationally recover from a first-round knockdown. This is Ambunda’s second world title as he claimed the WBO bantamweight title by beating Thailand’s Pungluang Sor Singyu in a points decision win over 12 rounds back in 2013. While the Namibian was expected to defend his title a number of times, he subsequently lost it to Japan’s Tomoki Kameda during his first defence. Some say that Ambunda was too quick in defending that title while others said it might have been a mistake to take a fight that was held in Cebu, the Philippines, which was close to the challenger’s home ground. The youthful Cooper has a record of 17 fights of which 14 were wins, two losses and a solitary draw. Ambunda has a record of 24 fights with 23 wins and one loss. HECTOR MAWONGA