By Mark Vester
It was reported by All Africa, that Kassim Ouma has hired hard punching Ghanaian fighter Kofi Jantuah as his sparring partner to prepare himself for the biggest fight of his career, a December 9 world title clash against undefeated Jermain Taylor. The bout will be televised by HBO.
Ouma moves up from 154 pounds in order to meet Taylor at the middleweight limit, and feels Jantuah is a bigger puncher than Taylor. He hopes that by sparring with larger, stronger sparring partners, he will be able to neutralize the size advantage of Taylor when they meet. Ouma admits that he is a natural 154-pounder and stands at only 5'8, while Taylor is 6'1 and holds advantages in strength and reach.
"He (Jantuah) is as tall and big as Taylor and a harder puncher," Ouma.
Last January, Ouma defeated Jantuah in a bout televised by HBO, held in Atlantic City. It was Ouma's furst defense of the IBF junior middleweight title, and his last as he lost his very next bout to Russia's Roman Karmazin six months later in Las Vegas.
