By Buntu Gotywa
Heavyweight prospect Ardi Ndembo, from Muizenberg, clinched the ABU South Heavyweight Title in dramatic fashion, dismantling Vincent Muziri of Zimbabwe in three rounds with a brutal KO at the Millennium Towers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The event dubbed Rising Stars took place on Wednesday October 13 and was headlined by Ndembo and staged in honour of Pan African visionary, Julius Nyerere.
The fight came off a disputed referee decision where the Muziri camp claimed that they were on the end of an early TKO with Ndembo and Muziri’s first encounter taking place in Harare in June.
This doubt and controversy was finally put to bed with a devastating KO by Ndembo settling the score once and for all. Ndembo proved he has unbelievable concussive knock out power and in just his 5 professional outings he is now the ABU South Champion.
“We are please with Ardi’s progress and aim to fight at least two more times this year, we have set up a base in Tanzania where the boxing public have embraced Team Ndembo as their own,” said manager Jeremy Bean Ndembo.
With a strong amateur pedigree and climbing the professional ranks with consistency and frequency, Ndembo is well on track to be the heavyweight prospect that the continent can get behind.
The young heavyweight has made Muizenberg his new home and trains under the Future Champs athlete development programme, honing his skills through a structured training regime.
Ndembo is set to fight again in Tanzania in December at the launch of the new Dome venue in Dar es Salaam against an opponent still to be confirmed.
“I’m really enjoying fighting in Tanzania and so regularly, this was a tough year but despite the challenges we have achieved our goals, 2022 will be a massive year for Team Ndembo – watch this space.“
