Black Mamba poised to strike Namibian light heavyweight boxer Wilberforce ‘Black Mamba’ Shihepo will be looking to shake up the boxing world when he steps into the ring with Britain’s Callum Johnson at the Manchester Arena on Saturday.The two will fight for the vacant Commonwealth light heavyweight title.
Johnson is unbeaten after 15 fights, having won 10 of those bouts by stoppages for a 67% knockout rate.
Shihepo, though, is vastly more experienced, having fought 31 times with 23 wins and eight losses.
The Namibian has won 17 fights by knockout for a 55% knockout rate.
Despite having lost eight pro fights, Shihepo is regarded as one of Namibia’s fiercest competitors.
He has fought some of boxing’s most highly rated fighters, including Germany’s Arthur Abraham and South Africa’s Johnny Muller.
As proof of his tenacity, Shihepo has never lost a fight by knockout.
Looking at the type of opponents Johnson has faced previously, the Namibian might be in another class altogether.
The last fighter the British boxer faced was Hungarian Norbert Szekeres, who has the unenviable record of 52 losses from 73 fights, accompanied by three draws.
Another of his opponents, Tzvetozar Iliev from Bulgaria, has 15 losses from 20 fights while Polish foe Bartlomiej Grafka has 22 losses from 44 fights.
But having won gold as an amateur boxer at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010, Johnson is regarded as a possible world title contender.
He recently told Sky Sports that he expects an easy win on Saturday.
"I feel very confident ahead of this fight. I''m excited for this test and it''s one I''ll come through with flying colours.”
HECTOR MAWONGA