Going by his official age, Shafik Kiwanuka was not yet born when Oliver McCall achieved what will forever be his greatest feat; an upset knockout victory over Briton Lennox Lewis in 1994 to claim the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title.
Yet despite the obviously huge difference in profile and age, Kiwanuka, aka the Killing Machine, is confident about his winning chances when the two face off at Kololo Airstrip on April 02 in a Universal Boxing Council (UBC) title bout.
"It is a big opportunity for me and a dream-come-true to be taking on such a fighter. The blades are sharp (ebiso-bisala),” roared Kiwanuka at the launch of the fight held in Kampala on Tuesday morning.
Kiwanuka has only three fights under his belt and launched his professional record with two ferocious KOs and one 10-round victory.
On his debut, on March 22 last year, he knocked out Kenyan David Khamala in one round.
The lanky boxer then finished off his second opponent Tyson Mbikayi of Congo, in less than a minute on July 26.
Then in just the third victory, he won a another lowly rated World Boxing Federation All-Africa Heavyweight Title after outboxing Zimbabwe’s Thamsanqa Dube at the International University of East Africa (IUEA) auditorium November 29.
His opponent in comparison is about to turn 56 and featured once last year and in two bouts overall over the past six years.
He is reported to have previously suffered a mental breakdown after losing a rematch against Lewis three years after winning the pair's initial fight.
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