By Ian S Palmer
Former WBC Super Featherweight Champion Miguel Berchelt returns to the ring to take on Jeremia Nakathila of Namibia this Saturday, March 26th. The 10-round lightweight bout from Las Vegas can be seen live in America on ESPN while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Sports Action. Berchelt was stopped in the 10th round by WBO Featherweight Champion Oscar Valdez in his last fight in February, 2021. Nakathila last fought in October when he stopped Ndodana Ncube in the second round.
Berchelt is 30 years old and now owns a record of 37-2 with 33 Kos. He made his pro debut in 2010 and has 163 rounds under his belt since. He stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a reach of 71.5 inches and has quite a bit of power with a current knockout ratio at an impressive 85 per cent. His first loss was a first-round TKO at the hands of Luis Florez in 2014 so he’s been stopped in both of his defeats but still has a pretty reliable chin.
Berchelt’s best wins have been against Francisco Vargas (twice), Miguel Roman, Jonathan Barros, Takashi Miura, George Jupp, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Escalante, Carlos Reyes and Cristobal Cruz. He enjoyed a fine amateur career and was a three-time national champion. He’s a fan-friendly boxer with an exciting style who gave fans a few classics against very tough customers in Valdez, Vargas and Miura. He successfully defend his title eight times after winning the interim belt by stopping George Jupp in the sixth round in 2018.
Nakathila is a 32-year-old who has a mark of 21-2 with 18 Ko’s. He turned pro in 2013 and has boxed a total of 108 rounds since. His first loss came at the hands of Evgeny Chuprakov by 12-round majority decision in 2016 for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight Title and he was beaten last June by unanimous decision by Shakur Stevenson in a shot at the WBO interim Super Featherweight Belt.
This will be Nakathila’s second fight outside of Africa and it would be hard for the average boxing fan to recognize any of his previous opponents other than Stevenson. However, since turning pro he’s won the WBO African Super Featherweight Title and defended it several times and captured the vacant WBO Global Super Featherweight Crown which he’s also defended a few times. Unfortunately, Nakathila has an unlisted height and reach but we do know he possesses pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 75 per cent.
Prediction…
Berchelt has an abundance of power and speed was ranked as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet before losing to Valdez. He’s been involved in several all-action slugfests as he prefers to let his fists go than get into a tactical fight. However, it’s hard to predict how a boxer will react the next time in the ring after suffering a knockout like he did at the hands of Valdez. Nakathila has plenty of power of his own so it looks like Berchelt is getting right back on the horse and doesn’t appear to be gun shy. I’m expecting Berchelt to bounce back with a win on Saturday night even though he’s moving up to 135 lbs.
