Indongo fight called off due to suspected Covid
By Michael Uugwanga
FORMER unified lightweight world champion, Julius ‘Blue Machine’ Indongo was set to step inside the ring for the 27th time on July 30 against Tanzania’s highly-rated boxer Hassan Mwakinyo, before the fight was called off due to a suspected case of Covid-19 inside Mwakinyo’s camp.
It is still not clear whether the fight will go ahead or whether Indongo will have to face another opponent on another date.
The two boxers were scheduled to battle it out for the African Boxing Union (ABU) Super-Welterweight title at Next Door Arena, Masaki in Dar es Salaam, with Mwakinyo currently holding the title.
Indongo, 38, has a professional record of 26 fights, 23 wins and three losses, with his last fight going back to November 27 last year in a defeat to Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Inter-Continental Welterweight title.
Indongo is a former unified light-welterweight world champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA), IBF, and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) titles between 2016 and 2017, before losing his WBA and IBF crowns to American icon Terence Crawford, just after he vacated his IBO titles after his former employer, MTC Nestor Sunshine Tobias Fitness and Boxing Academy, failed to pay sanction fees for the belt.
Indongo’s other loss was against Regis Prograis in 2018 in the World Boxing Council (WBC) Interim World Super-Lightweight title bout.
Indongo who is based in Nebraska, USA is now waiting for his promoter DiBella Entertainment to tell him his next opponent and the venue.
Speaking to Confidente Sport this week, the soft-spoken Indongo, a member of the Namibian Police Force (NamPol) has said that despite his fight having been called off he remains focused and consistent inside the gym, while waiting for his next fight.
“Other team (Mwakinyo camp) picked up Covid-19. It (fight) got postponed. My consistency is always the same and I do not categorise level of my boxing since day one.
I am always working out even not having a fight scheduled.
I was just told by my promoter that I am going to fight between October and November 2021, but no update with opponent and the venue yet (sic),” said Indongo.