Mubarak suffers controversial loss in WBO Africa title bid

GHANA'S Abubakar Mubarak suffered his first career defeat last Saturday evening following a controversial round nine stoppage loss to Namibia's Paulus Ndjolonimu in a WBO Africa super middleweight title fight in Windhoek.

The former Ghana middleweight champion gave an  account of his credentials against the much taller and bigger Ndjolonimu in front of a hostile crowd at the Windhoek Country Club and Casino but a flash knockdown in the ninth round proved his undoing as South African referee, Clifford Mbelu, counted him out in an unbelievable double quick time.

Following the knockdown which admittedly caught the Ghanaian flat-footed and sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career, Mubarak appeared to be in no trouble at all and just took a bit of a time to rise up, even though it clearly didn't take long enough not to beat the referee's mandatory count. 

Referee Mbelu, however, was very swift than the Ghanaian could ever imagine, waving off the contest just as he got up clearly within the stipulated time, much to the disbelief of Mubarak and his trainer, Fatai Issifu, who was at the ringside. 

Indeed, many Namibians and commentators at the ringside expressed disbelief at the referee's call and wondered what happened.

It was the first defeat for Mubarak but the young Ghanaian maintains his world title ambitions still remain on track despite the disappointment in Namibia.

"I was surprised at the attitude of the referee, he was counting so fast and I became alarmed. That's why I quickly rose up but I was very surprised that he hadn't even counted up to 7 and he stopped the fight, I just couldn't believe it," Mubarak said in his post fight interviews right inside the ring.

"I know I gave a good account of myself here despite all the disadvantages, so I'm not worried at all by my loss. This is boxing, I'm going back to work even harder with my coach and team, trust me we have learnt a lot from here and will return stronger. I will not rest until I become a world champion," Mubarak added.