WINDHOEK, Namibia—Former World Boxing Association lightweight champion Paulus “The Hitman” Moses (27-1, 19 KOs) bolstered his chances of another title shot on Saturday by scoring a first-round knockout over Argentine opponent Miguel Lombardo at the Windhoek Country Club Resort in Namibia.
Moses landed a picture-perfect body shot near the end of the opening stanza that sent Lombardo to the mat where the referee counted him out at just 2:59 into the contest.
“I love fighting in my hometown of Windhoek in front of the people who know me best and support me most,” Moses said after the victory. “My goal is to fight for another world championship, and the people of Windhoek provide me all the inspiration I need.
“Don King is my promoter and he said I would win by knockout, and that is just what happened. I know he believes in me and will soon find the opportunity for me to become champion again.”
King was pleased his fighter did what was expected of him.
“Paulus Moses and all of his fans in Namibia are serving notice to the rest of the boxing world that another title fight is warranted,” King said. “Paulus fights for himself, his hometown and his country. That is what makes him great.”
Moses scored a fifth-round technical knockout victory over Sergio Omar Priotti, also from Argentina, in a spirited contest held on Nov. 25 in Windhoek.
Moses traveled to Japan in 2008 and defeated Yusuke Kobori to win the WBA lightweight crown. Interim WBA lightweight champion Miguel Acosta, from Venezuela, trekked to Windhoek for a showdown with Moses on May 29. He handed Moses the sole loss of his career to become the outright WBA lightweight champion.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
