Erasmus Shalihaxwe
Namibian boxer Jeremiah Nakathila says he is proud of the work he has done in the United States, despite losing to American boxer Abdullah Mason by a fifth-round technical knockout on Sunday.
Nakathila (35) suffered a deep cut above his left eye during the fight.
The injury blurred his vision, and the referee stopped the bout.
The fight took place in the United States and was Nakathila’s fifth match there.
He has now lost four of those fights, winning only once against Miguel Berchelt in March 2022.
His professional record now stands at 30 fights, with 26 wins and four losses.
Speaking after the match, Nakathila said it was simply a bad day at the office.
“I’m proud to represent Africa at this level, but yeah, it’s bad in the office,” he said.
Former PDM member of parliament Hidipo Hamata criticised the performance and questioned Nakathila and his team’s preparedness.
He said the fight was about money and not national pride.
“We must be honest with ourselves: the Sunshine Tobias Academy is failing to prepare boxers for international competition. That betrays the legacy that Harry Simon established in our country. It is shameful to send unprepared fighters abroad just to profit financially; it undermines our national reputation, which Mr Simon built with honour,” Hamata said.
He called on sponsors such as MTC to stop funding boxing stables that send fighters abroad without proper preparation.
“MTC and other sponsors should instead invest in genuine talent, fighters like Harry Simon Jr. This current approach is unacceptable and completely wrong,” he said.
