Ouma Sets UP IBF Title Shot

Jan 04, 2004

<i><b>Ugandan junior middleweight ace knocks out Colombian</b></i><br>KASSIM Ouma’s dream of a world title shot crystallized on Saturday night after yet another classy show by the Ugandan prizefighter.

BY PHILLIP CORRY
AND JAMES BAKAMA

KASSIM Ouma’s dream of a world title shot crystallized on Saturday night after yet another classy show by the Ugandan prizefighter.
Ouma, popularly known as “The Dream” in fight circles, knocked out Colombia’s Juan Candelo in the tenth round of a world title eliminator in Connecticut.
The win guaranteed the high-flying Ugandan a title shot against International Boxing Federation(IBF) junior middleweight champion Ronald “Winky” Wright.
Ouma, now 19-1-1(13 KOs) kept the big crowd in Foxwoods resort on its toes as he made a mockery of Candelo’s threat to send the Ugandan southpaw to sleep.
Candelo, 26-6-3(19 KOs) had in the pre-fight press conference appeared with a pillow bearing the inscription “Sweet Dreams.”
But it was Candelo who was instead sent into a slumber with a flurry of unanswered punches that prompted referee Michael Ortega to stop the fight 15 seconds into the tenth round.
Candelo had first seen red a round earlier when a vicious left hook floored him. He made it to his feet at the count of eight and survived the round, but was wobbly and badly hurt as he went to his corner.
He was allowed to come for the tenth, but Ouma pounced immediately and fired the Colombian into submission. Ouma was by this point leading 89-81 on all three judges’ scorecards.
IBF champion Wright recently sealed a deal to unify the division’s belts with a fight against WBC and WBA Super welterweight champion Shane “Sugar” Mosley on March 13 at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ouma’s five-year career as a professonal has had him floor highly-regarded opponents like Congolese Alex Bunema, American Jason Papillion, Mexicans Pedro Ortega and Carlos Borjorquez.
He is out to emulate fellow Ugandans Boza Edwards, Ayub Kalule and John “The Beast” Mugabi whose boxing prowess won them world titles in the seventies and eighties.
Meanwhile Uganda Professional Boxing Commission (UPBC) President Celestino Mindra has sent Ouma a congratulatory message following the result.
Ends

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