Akwa Ibom-born boxer Enobong “The Nigerian Gentleman” Umohette has secured the 20th victory of his professional career after defeating former WBL heavyweight champion Fidel “Infierno” Munoz by unanimous decision.
Umohette successfully defended his UBC South American regional title in an eight-round bout held at the Santa Marta Sports Complex in Colombia on the penultimate weekend.
According to a report by the sports correspondent of Santa Marta Heraldo, Munoz was not only a Colombian native and hometown favourite but also a vastly experienced professional with more than 80 fights, including 35 knockout victories.
The bout was described as tactical, with the highly mobile Munoz attempting to use lateral movement to outmanoeuvre Umohette.
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However, Umohette frustrated his opponent by controlling the centre of the ring, steadily applying pressure, cutting off the former champion’s escape routes and landing clean punches consistently.
All three judges scored the fight in Umohette’s favour, handing him a unanimous decision victory.
The win extended Umohette’s current run to 11 consecutive victories.
Umohette thanked God, his family, promoter Erik Fleming, co-promoter Monte Ekott, boxing fans and his supporters in Nigeria and the United States for backing his comeback journey.
United boxers
He also congratulated fellow Nigerian heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on his recent knockout victory over Albanian fighter Kristen Prenga in the second round.
Umohette said Joshua overcame significant adversity in the bout, rising from two knockdowns before stopping Prenga. He also praised Joshua’s resilience in returning to the ring after the death of close associates in a fatal car crash last year.
The crash nearly claimed Joshua’s life and left him with significant physical and emotional trauma.
Umohette also congratulated and commended Moses Itauma, the 21-year-old European-born boxer and fellow Akwa Ibom indigene, following his IBF world title fight against highly decorated Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic.
He said Itauma displayed the qualities that had accelerated his rise to world-title contention at such a young age.
According to Umohette, Itauma was on the verge of achieving a feat last accomplished by Mike Tyson 40 years ago and deserved the highest praise for reaching such heights early in his career.
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He described Itauma as the future of heavyweight boxing and expressed confidence that the young boxer would recover from the defeat and eventually win a world heavyweight title.
Reacting to Umohette’s victory, his promoter, Fleming, said the bout was an important test of the boxer’s durability at the championship level.
Speaking from California, Fleming said it was necessary to reassess Umohette’s ability to compete over eight-, 10- and 12-round distances without becoming desperate to secure a knockout.
Umohette last completed an eight-round bout in Mexico in 2023 and subsequently won seven consecutive fights by knockout.
Fleming also praised the professionalism of the Santa Marta boxing commission, noting that Umohette secured a unanimous decision against a hometown favourite in front of his home crowd.
He said discussions would soon begin over a possible bout between Umohette and Labinot Xhoxhaj, the current European heavyweight champion.
Umohette’s professional record now stands at 20 wins and three losses.
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