Nakathila ready to rumble
Jeremiah Nakathila, known for his heavy-hitting abilities, delivered a dominant performance in March against former junior lightweight titleholder Miguel Berchelt, overwhelming him in a six-round beatdown. Following this victory, Nakathila looked to capitalise on the momentum and make a name for himself in the crowded and exciting lightweight division.
Unfortunately, the 33-year-old African wasn’t able to capitalise on his career-best win and was left outside looking in.
“I’m a bit disappointed that I have not been in the ring since defeating Berchelt but I also understand that things in the lightweight division are a bit tense right now,” Nakathila (23-2, 19 knockouts) told The Ring. “We had to wait for [Devin] Haney [and George] Kambosos to fight twice.
“I would have liked to step in the ring against [Isaac] ‘Pitbull’ [Cruz] in the meantime to take care of business but that didn’t materialise but I’m hoping to be back in the ring in the first quarter of this year.”
Rising young fighter Raymond Muratalla (16-0, 13 KOs) recently mentioned Nakathila. While it’s not the high-profile fight Nakathila is looking for, he admits it could help him get something bigger.
“I heard Raymond calling me out and I must admit that was very brave of him to do that,” he said. “Sometimes these guys just mention your name to give themselves relevance and make the news but they have no intention to fight you.
“I’m ready for Raymond and [will] give him a boxing lesson that he will never forget. Once I am done with him, I can hopefully move onto bigger fights against the likes of Cruz, Kambosos, Haney, [Vasiliy] ‘Loma [chenko]’ and [Gervonta] ‘Tank’ Davis,”
Nakathila’s handler, Nestor Tobias, has a good relationship with Top Rank, having previously twice worked with the powerhouse promoter, and hopes to precure something soon for his hungry fighter.
“We are thankful that Nakathila had two big fights versus [Shakur] Stevenson and Berchelt [on Top Rank shows],” said Tobias. “We are constantly in talks with Top Rank and are positive that they can make anything happen and we can hopefully make a big announcement soon on Nakathila’s next fight so stay tuned.”