Climbing a boxing Everest

Namibia has a vast pool of talented boxers, but they falter when they meet American opposition. Larry E Brown Sr from the CW Boxing Club in Nebraska, who trained the likes of former world champion Julius 'Blue Machine' Indongo said Namibian boxers have the potential to improve if local coaches and boxers sincerely partner with their American counterparts.Brown said local boxers falter when there is a mix-up with training styles ahead of major fights with United States opposition. He added that just because boxers are used to one thing and do it well, this doesn't mean the outcome will be the same when they fight in the US.“In America boxers are trained very differently from the style used in Europe. We train you to fight an American fighter for a reason. Let's say I get a request to train a Namibian boxer in America. All the teams agree on the terms and eventually the boxer arrives and starts training in the American style versus the style he was taught back home.“For about eight weeks I teach him a new style, all of a sudden his Namibian trainer comes to the US to help out on 'certain things' and then just like that the boxer reverts back to his old way of fighting.“The local trainer holds the boxing mitt in their session and then the boxer falls into a slump. He simply throws everything he has learned from the US trainer out of the window,” Brown said.He added that the boxer then loses interest in what he was taught because he is comfortable with his old style and with his local trainer, causing him to lose at the end of the day.“Mind you, he has won most of his boxing matches in Africa and maybe two in Europe, but he has never fought in the US. Staying on the training course would have resulted in positives for the boxer,” Brown emphasised.The trainer further said that Namibia has a bright future in boxing, but boxers must change their European style of fighting. “Not to say that it's a bad thing, but they need to learn the American style while keeping their own unique style in the bag.“The art or sweet science of boxing is highly technical, with its subtle nuances and fluid movement. It's an art that takes years of practice under the right trainer and conditioning coaches,” Brown said. He added that boxing takes physical, mental and spiritual balance, wrapped up in a nutshell. “Boxing is discovering your own identity after you have mastered the necessary basic skills and developed your own style.'”It's like a game of chess. It's about strategising, and in America, that's what we teach, simply how to outsmart your opponent.“We encourage boxers to watch film after film of their opponent and other fighters, as well as to find the closest sparring partner who might have a similar fighting style to their upcoming opponent.“Remember, once you have mastered the American way of fighting, you can further diversify your own skills and style,” he added.Local inputLocal trainer Nicky Natangwe, from AC Boxing Gym, said as much as they want to send their boxers to America, this is a costly exercise.“We don't have a sponsor yet. Everything we do, we do it out of our pockets. We are also not promoters; we are just running a club so every boxer training with us can have a promoter. “In Namibia our boxers still need to make the sport a career. These guys have day-to-day jobs, unlike boxers in the US. Those guys in the US train day and night.”Natangwe stressed that in order to stand up and be counted as the best in the world, local trainers and promoters need to cooperate, “but now you have everyone pulling in different directions”. “When we have major championships coming up we need to be able to consult with one another, but this is not happening,” Natangwe said. He added that if they get sponsorship they can do more for local boxers, by calling in trainers from overseas to share their skills.“We really need finance because there are various types of training equipment we don't have here, even though we have incredibly talented guys,” Natangwe added.America is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to boxing, having produced the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Henry Armstrong, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sugar Ray Robinson, with the current crop, including the likes of Terence Crawford, still setting the boxing world alight.LIMBA MUPETAMI

Climbing a boxing Everest

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-15

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Climbing a boxing Everest

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-15

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