All but the last two of Indongo?s fights were in Namibia, but he?s clearly as comfortable beating men abroad as he was beating them at home?
Saturday night at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, in a super lightweight unification bout, IBF/IBO champion Julius Indongo (22-0, 11 KOs), the southpaw from Windhoek, Namibia, won a unanimous decision over recently crowned WBA champion Ricky Burns (41-6-1, 14 KOs), from Coatbridge, Scotland, after 12 lopsided rounds.
The final scores were 120-108, 118-110, and 116-112.
Fighting out of the red corner in blue trunks with white trim, Indongo is the former Namibian champion whose ring moniker is ?Blue Machine.? He won the IBF and IBO titles in his last fight after scoring a first round knockout of previously undefeated Eduard Troyanovsky in Russia. Tonight he used his unorthodox stance, intensity and superior strength to bring the fight to the game Scotsman.
Burns, fighting out of the blue corner in camouflage trunks, had a four-fight win streak coming into the bout, after a rough patch a couple years ago where he went 3-1-1. But ?Rickster? and his team knew better than to take Indongo lightly and trained hard for the match, not that it made much difference in the end.
Burns played it safe in the opening rounds, but Indongo?s advantages in height and reach were more than he could deal with. He fought courageously from the opening to closing bell, but courage is not enough.
?The better man won, no excuses,? said Burns after the fight. ?He was so awkward. He was a lot better than we thought he was going to be and he can hit as well.?
After 16 years of fighting pro and at the age of 34, Burns? career may be winding down, but not if he has anything to say about it.
?I?m going to have all the doubters saying I?m finished, but I will come again. He started the rounds fast and the height and reach advantage meant he was out of my distance.?
All but the last two of Indongo?s fights were in Namibia, but he?s clearly as comfortable beating men abroad as he was beating them at home.
?I feel very proud. I believe the whole country will get the whole day off,? he beamed. ?My home crowd are watching. It?s for the whole of Africa. This is so great. I am very proud for opening my doors and now the world can see me.?
The world has seen Julius Indongo and likes what it has seen.
