Samuel Shimbuli is a name deep-rooted in the archives of Namibian boxing.
Inspired by the late legend Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) who was considered as the world's greatest boxer, Shimbuli packed dynamite in his right hand.
"I want to be remembered as a lightweight champion who fought for Rössing Uranium Boxing Club and I won my senior boxing championships in 1981," he tells The Namibian Sport.
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"My boxing style was more of an out boxer. Punching hard at the speed of lighting. I was also using speed to control distance in the boxing ring. I mostly concentrated on heavy punches."
That is Shimbuli summed up at his prime.
The retired boxer says his boxing style was inspired by both Ali and another American world champion, Sugar Ray Leonard, who was also an Olympic Games boxing gold medalist in the mid-70s.
"Ali was a true beast in the ring. He was fast and stung like a bee. Punches and jabs were knockouts. He was so unpredictable but one thing was certain, Ali was going to win. He rewrote the style of a modern day heavyweight boxer," Shimbuli notes.
"I was also inspired by Sugar Ray Leonard. He was also an American boxer. Leonard was referred to as the young Ali, their styles were similar despite their different weight categories. Leonard obtained world titles in five different weight classes which is highly admirable."
Shimbuli was born in a shack in Windhoek's Old Location in 1955. He grew up in Katutura from 1960 when black residents were forced by the South African apartheid regime to relocate to Katutura from Klein Windhoek.
The retired hard-puncher started boxing in 1969 at the age of 15.
"My boxing career started at Staats Ovambo School (now Mandume Junior Primary School). I was trained by tate Ndjamba at his Ovovo Boxing Club with other boys like Abel Paulus (ex-People's Liberation Army of Namibia combatant), Sageus Amakali and Henock Angula to mention but a few."
He says tate Ndjamba was a very good, and disciplined coach with his boxers.
"My boxing category was lightweight and I trained very hard to maintain the same weight throughout my career. It wasn't easy but I tried to keep weighing about 57kg. I had a very simple nutritious diet of omboha (spinach), mopane worms and pap.
"My biggest aspiration, apart from that of winning all my fights and maintaining my champion status, was to try not to become overweight and to maintain the same weight. In boxing one cannot be fat, unless you want to be a heavyweight boxer."
Like any sportperson Shimbuli was also proud to represent Namibia, although at provincial level against the best South Africa had to offer.
"I was a proud young boxer who represented South West Africa. If Namibia was independent things could have been different. My desire was to fight overseas, but independence came too late. Those were difficult years because there was no income in boxing.
"My most memorable fight was in Newcastle, South Africa. I boxed a white fellow named Groenewald. I gave him a knockout and he struggled to stand up. But my punches were too strong for him. Groenewald didn't return to the ring until a specific time."
Shimbuli was a fast puncher who was always on the move, using agile footwork and head movements to make himself impossible to hit. He was also adaptable to offences and defences against his opponent.
He used the entire ring to fight, a strategy that gave him enough space to move around and it also helped him to set up attacks in rapid succession, forcing the opponent in an unfavourable position.
"Despite all the glory I gained in the ring. I also had one tough opponent who from Newcastle, whom I can only remember by his nickname 'Kangaroo'. He was fast and he had a similar boxing style to Ali.
"His combination of hand speed and movement was dangerous. He was really an exceptional fighter and his unique style could easily give one a knockout. Another great component of his was that he was fast on his feet."
He says Namibia had iconic boxers before independence, people who could have made their country proud internationally.
"We had Joseph Shikongo, who was popularly known as 'Joe Archer'. He was Namibia's first pre-independence professional boxer. His illustrious boxing career started from 1971 until 1975. He was based in South Africa and he was truly an exceptional boxer," Shimbuli says.
"Then there was the late Eddy Willibard, nicknamed 'Man of Action'. He was a very good boxer during our time at Mandume Primary School. He was very sporty. He was also an exceptional cyclist during our school years. He was very disciplined and organised in his boxing career."
Shimbuli was excited talking about his former Rössing Boxing Club stablemate, Abiud Kanambuga, whom he described as a mean puncher.
"He punched very hard and his blows were very strong and left opponents with serious scars. Abiud won the new amateur South African light heavyweight boxing title after beating an equally tough Pine Pienaar on points during the South African Boxing Championship in 1981."
Shimbuli, who still follows Namibian boxing, says Namibia has proven to the world that we are good enough to compete and beat the best boxers the in the world by producing our own world champions. He says he holds special respect for Harry Simon.
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"Harry (Simon) was and is still a magnificent boxer. He is a world champion in two weight classes - the WBO junior middleweight title and the WBO middleweight title - and the fact that he retired undefeated from 31 professional fights tells you a lot.
"Simon still has a lot of boxing in him even after his retirement and Namibia and the world still owe him a lot. I would love to see the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua."
Shimbuli says his biggest regret is that there were no opportunities for them in the 60s or 70s to participate in the Olympic Games because of apartheid which led to South Africa's boycot from the main global sport events.
Shimbuli, who retired from boxing in 1989, says he is happy with what his boxing contributed to Namibia and he moves forward without regret and focuses on the positive contributions by the current crop of boxers.
His advice to Namibian boxers: "Namibian boxers should master the art of mental resilience. They must master their boxing techniques such as footwork and breathing. They must seek international training to elevate their game. Our boxers need to seek stakeholder support. They must request for better financial payment for professional boxers in Namibia."
