By Carlos Costa
WBO Bantamweight World Champion Paulus "The Rock" Ambunda of Namibia arrived yesterday (July 22) in the Philippines ahead of his voluntary first defense against undefeated Japanese Tomoki "El Mexicanito" Kameda on August 1 at the plush Waterfront Hotel & Casino in Cebu.
The 32 year-old Ambunda (20-0, 10 KOs) is the tough African fighter who dethroned Thailander Pungluang Sor Singyu, the tormentor of popular ALA star AJ "Bazooka" Banal.
Nicknamed "The Rock," Paulus Ambunda, represented his country Namibia in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Then, since becoming professional, he has never lost, has been African champ and is the reigning, defending WBO bantamweight world champion eager to score a big win in Cebu, Philippines.
AMBUNDA: KAMEDA MAKES A MISTAKE, HE WILL PAY
Before leaving Namibia, Ambunda said to the Namibian All Africa:
"My training has gone well and I have been working hard with my coaches and now we are just looking forward to the fight. We can't wait to defend our title," he said.
"I am so excited and I can't wait to see my opponent. He's a small boy and I cannot underestimate him, but I am the Rock and I'm going there (to the Philippines) on a mission. I'm not going there as a tourist, but I'm going there to defend what is mine," he added.
In addition, Ambunda commentted that he has watched fight videos of Kameda and is not too worried.
"I have watched his videos, but I believe in myself and he cannot beat me. I promise the whole nation (of Namibia) that I'll defend my title as I have planned - at least three or four times." said Ambunda.
And the confident champion end up saying:
"In boxing you cannot predict in which round you will knock him out, but if he makes a single small mistake, he will pay for that and in each round where I catch him, he will go down."
Furthermore, Nestor Tobias, the manager of Ambunda, is confident of his pupils victory on August 1:
"The guy (Ambunda) is in good shape, he has been working hard for the last two months and we are ready for the fight. We will go there (to the Philippines) to win," assured Tobias.
"That's why I requested the WBO to appoint neutral officials, so that there are not any Asian or African officials, so that we will have a fair judgement that day," he said.
Ambunda is trained by head coach Imms Moses.
"EL MEXICANITO" KAMEDA IN THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGHT OF HIS LIFE
Meanwhile, the Japanese challenger Tomoki Kameda (27-0, 18 KOs), 10 years younger than the champion, went about a month ago to Cebu (Philippines) for a week training. But went back to Japan. He is scheduled be back in Cebu (city of the fight) on July 25th.
Nicknamed "El Mexicanito," Tomoki Kameda moved to Mexico years ago to learn and practice boxing there.
In November of 2008, the young Japanese made his first pro fight in Mexico and so far 15 of this total 27 bouts have been fought and won in different venues of across Mexico, where he is popular for his fighting style and fluency in Español.
In fact, the young Tomoki, 22, who has never lost as a pro fighter, belongs to a very active boxing family. His two elder brothers Koki, 26, and Daiki, 24 are well-know professional fighters.
Koki is the current WBA Bantamweight World Champion defending his title today (July 23) in Japan and expected to win. Meanwhile, Daiki has been WBA Flyweight Champion and is scheduled to fight for the vacant IBF Super Flyweight Title Sept 3 in Japan.
The Ambunda-Kameda fight, billed as "BATTLE OF THE UNDEFEATED," is a production of Cebuano promoter Rex "Wakee" Salud of RWS Boxing Productions in association with Kameda Brothers Promotions and the Waterfront Resort & Casino.
