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Salute Boxing Academy presents
the Harambee Coastal Boxing
Bonanza headlined by Bethuel
“Tyson” Ushona vs. Deniz Ilbay
for the vacant World Boxing
Federation (WBF) World
Welterweight title on Saturday,
June 25, at the Indoor Sport
Complex in Walvis Bay, Namibia.
Following in the footsteps of
respected former champions such
as Roger Turner, Greg Haugen and
Humberto Soto, winning the WBF
World Welterweight crown would
undoubtedly be a career
highlight for both boxers, and
both have proclaimed willingness
to leave everything in the ring
to come out victorious.
Former African and Namibian
national champion Ushona (34)
brings a fine 34-4-1 (9) record,
and has a clear advantage in
experience over 21-year-old
Ilbay, 15-1 (8), from Cologne,
Germany. While this will be the
home-mans eighteenth
championship fight, the visitor
has only taken part in five.
But youth is a strong factor in
this evenly-matched encounter,
and Ilbay showed tremendous grit
and determination in his sole
career-loss, when he came up
short on points to one of the
sports most touted new names in
undefeated wrecking-ball
Egidijus Kavaliauskas on the
Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley
undercard in Las Vegas last
April.
Most insiders expected the
California-based Lithuanian,
12-0 (11) at the time, would
steamroll Ilbay, but instead the
youngster made something of a
name for himself, proving
everybody wrong by being able to
compete at a very high level
under the bright lights at the
famous MGM Grand Garden Arena.
While he has lost decisions to
class acts such as Denton
Vassell (16-0) for the
Commonwealth title in 2011 and
former WBF and IBF World
champion Jan Zaveck (31-2) in
2012, Bethuel Ushona also has
victories over several
accomplished fighters on his
resume.
Among the notables he has
defeated are former world
champions Isaac Hlatshwayo
(30-4-1) and Kaizer Mabuza
(25-9-3), as well as tough
contenders Philip Kotey (20-4-2)
and Ebenezer Lamptey (24-2).
Ilbay will likely not bring
anything Ushona has not seen
before, but the question is if
youth or experience will be the
deciding factor on the night.
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