Talk about an athlete with perseverance, and the name Paulus 'The Rock' Ambunda quickly comes to mind.
Who could ever imagine that the pint-sized orthodox pugilist, who only tapes a height of 1,63m with a reach of just 175cm, could become a world champion?
Born at Omusimboti village, in the Oshana region, Ambunda made the transformation from being a promising footballer to winning a silver medal in the flyweight division at the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria, before going on to win three bantamweight world titles.
Although he initially started boxing in the mini-flyweight division in 1997 at Omusimboti Combined School, in 2001 Ambunda decided to pursue his first love, playing football.
"It may come as a surprise to many people but yes, I played football for the school team at Ella du Plessis, and I was a very useful right wing-back indeed. I played for the under-17 team and I was even called up for the under-17 national team trials, with the likes of Quinton Jacobs.
"However, my love for boxing finally took the upper hand after watching Harry 'The Terminator' Simon fighting. I was just captivated by the way he made mincemeat of world-renowned boxers and champions with breathtaking ease," he says.
He joined the Windhoek Central Boxing Club under coach Mistake Gariseb, together with the likes of Joshua Veikko, Nicky Natangwe and Jason Naule, who all went on to become national champions in the amateur ranks before they turned professional.
Ambunda launched a very successful career in the amateur ranks that saw him becoming a national champion, after he first beat Imms 'Prince' Naindjala at the Namibia National Boxing Championships at Swakopmund in 2001, to win the flyweight title.
He knocked the very same Naindjala out during the 2002 edition of the same event at Okahandja - to stamp his authority as the undisputed flyweight champion of the country.
"I really enjoyed a very beautiful boxing journey, starting from my first national title. I was also one of only two boxers, together with Joseph Ilonga, to represent Namibia as a flyweight at the Inaugural Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad, India, in 2003.
"I did my utmost best to return home with a silver medal from the 2004 All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria, to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. I surprised both friend and foe to reach the quarter-final stage of the event," he points out.
Nevertheless, the former footballer redeemed himself by winning a precious gold medal in the bantamweight division at the Africa Zone Six Championships in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 2006.
His exploits in the ring were enough to attract the attention of Nestor 'Sunshine' Tobias, who lured him to the lucrative professional ranks, through joining the MTC Nestor Sunshine Tobias Boxing and Fitness Academy.
He went on to win six consecutive national bantamweight titles between 2007 and 2009, since his first professional title fight which he won on points over four rounds against Johannes Gabriel at Swakopmund in 2007.
Ambunda boasts an impressive professional record of 30 fights, 27 wins (11 knockouts) and only three losses.
"I was very serious with my boxing career and before I knew it I fought for the vacant Namibian bantamweight title, which I won against Tommy Nakashimba on a technical knockout in the second round in 2009.
"I then upped the ante a little by gunning for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) interim African Bantamweight title during which I defeated Sithembile Kibiti of South Africa via a second round technical knockout at Walvis Bay in 2009," he says.
The WBO African Bantamweight title was won against South African Tendani Munyai through a third round technical knockout in 2010.
He successfully defended his title six times, with the last fight coming against Cleutus Mbhele of South Africa with a unanimous decision over 12 rounds in 2012.
Ambunda became a world champion for the first time after he clinched the WBO Bantamweight title against Pungluang Sor Singyu of Thailand in his 20th fight in 2013, on a unanimous decision over 12 rounds.
However, he would end up losing the belt in his first defence, to Japanese fighter Tomoki Kameda, over 12 rounds in Cebu City, Philippines in 2013.
"My fight against Kameda was the worst boxing decision I ever made. The fight was not supposed to happen in the first place. You know boxing is a big money making business and it was not supposed to happen away from home in the first place.
"But it was my first time and one is bound to make mistakes. I was not even supposed to give Kameda, who was the number one contender, a crack for the title so soon after winning it. I was supposed to take on other contenders in the top six first," he says.
He went on to win the vacant International Boxing Organisation (IBO) super international silver bantamweight title against Muhamad Ridhwan of Singapore in September 2018, on a split decision over 12 rounds - only to lose his belt to Stephen Fulton Jr in the United States on a unanimous decision over 12 rounds in his last fight on 11 May in 2019.
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The former champion married his high school sweetheart, Sylvia Abel Ambunda, and the marriage is blessed with a 14-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son.
Ambunda is currently employed as a paymaster by the Namibian Defence Force, in the finance department at the Suiderhof Military Base. He holds the rank of warrant officer II.
"I issue payslips to the soldiers and if a soldier is transferred to our base from another base, I have to write a letter to the ministry so that he can receive his salary from our pay point. If the payslip was wrongfully sent to another pay point, I have to send my corporal to get it.
"I am also responsible for the issuing of S&T to the soldiers when they travel out of town on official duty. They must return the receipts of their expenses back to me for filing purposes because we have to be accountable with the public funds," he says.
He explains that although the going is not always smooth, he has to be fully committed towards his work because hard work is always rewarded with a promotion.
Apart from his daily job, Ambunda also has a company, PNA Investment CC, a motor vehicle import and export business dealing strictly with requests from customers.
