Pound for pound with Kanime Kanime
…an unorthodox leather trader
Literacy tells us that an unorthodox boxing style is a method of boxing that is alien to the sport itself. Leather traders applying this style and method fall way outside the triangle of the following categories; swarmer, brawler, and puncher.
Former lightweight boxer Kanime Kanime was your typical unorthodox fighter with his unique style that always had the crowd seating on the edge of their seats whenever the flamboyant stylish Swakopmund-based boxer entered the boxing ring.
New Era Sport caught up with the 50-year old now retired crowd favourite, as he ushers us through the somewhat patchy boxing journey that saw him fashion just seven wins from 18 bouts in the paid ranks, dwarfed by an unimpressive eight defeats with three of those fights ending in stalemates.
Born Kanime Kanime on 1 April 1973 in the Oshitutuma village, Uukwambi district, holed up in the vastly populated Omusati region, the super active young boy was always ready to roll with the punches, freely engaging in exhibition wrestling bouts with fellow Kamashonas from his village and surrounding areas.
At the age of eight, Kanime moved to the mining town of Arandis to start his primary education at the revered Colin Foundation School. He wasted little time and joined the Rossing Boxing Club under the mentorship of Bob Kambauruma and Albertus Katiti, and as they say, the rest is history.
Kanime had his first taste in competitive boxing with a date against an unnamed South African opponent, which he comfortably won on points. The nimblefooted rookie boxer went on to represent his native land (Namibia) internationally during the biennial Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) Championship held at the old SKW Hall in Windhoek in 1995.
Kanime was amongst a strong Namibian delegation alongside Frans Mumbuu and Rambo Hantindi at the Zone Six Amateur Boxing Championship staged in Angola in 1999, and also fought in
the Congo.
After sporadic un-cool mixed results in the boxing ring, the outright crowd favourite seriously contemplated quitting the sport after suffering a first-round knockout defeat at the hands of a South African opponent at the Windhoek Country Club in 2007, but decided to give it another shot.
The much-adored boxer will be best remembered for his bravery and unbelievable endurance, notably that memorable night when he stretched former world champion Bethuel “Tyson” Ushona to the limit during their national title 10-rounder before narrowly losing on points at the packed-to-rafters Sam Nujoma stadium in Windhoek in 2007. Sadly, as it turned out, that defeat signalled the end of his long and winding boxing career.
After losing his daily job at the Usab Mine, the energetic retired popular boxer turned his hand to coaching, and mentoring upcoming boxers. Regrettably, he was forced to throw in the towel, citing a lack of financial support from the corporate world.
“Eish…...it’s a very expensive exercise to sustain a boxing stable without serious financial means because one needs proper equipment and space to take boxers through the ropes. I tried my level best to convince local business people to come on board but unfortunately, my plea fell on deaf ears,” concludes the dejected Kanime Kanime.