From tears of pain to tears of joy

“I cried so much for this title after losing it, so I had to dig deeper when I was given the opportunity to reclaim it.”

Newly crowned IBF junior flyweight World boxing champion Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga shared the agony he went through after being dethroned in November by Adrian Curiel.

“I cried so much as I sat in the dressing room after that fight,” said Notshinga, who suffered a second-round knockout.

The boxer’s manager, Colin “Nomakanjani” Nathan, assured him at the time that he was going to get  him back to where he belonged. “I just want Sivenathi to take a break, enjoy Christmas and we will be back in business next year  (2024),” said Nathan, who has successfully earned  global respect and recognition from heavyweight movers and shakers.

Sooner than expected, Nathan announced that Curiel would defend against Nontshinga and that their second meeting was to take place in the champion’s backyard of Mexico on February 17.

That day came and  went  and the outcome of the fight changed the landscape of South African boxing. Nontshinga’s 10th-round stoppage win made him only the second local boxer to lose his World title and then reclaim it  after an immediate rematch.

Thulani “Sugar Boy” Malinga was the first. He lost the WBC super middleweight world title to Vincenzo Nardiello on July 6 1996, but regained it right away in his next fight the following year from Robbin Reid, who had ended Nardiello’s reign.

“It is always great to have victory out of your comfort zone, out of your hometown. It is much bigger when you do it twice out of your country; that is massive,” said Nontshinga, whose first victory in 2022 for the same title was against Mexican Hector Flores in Mexico.

“I am so grateful for the support that I get at home, my team ... No Doubt Management, Matchroom Sport, Colin, Best (his father), Bernie (Pailman, who is cut man), Siya (Zingelwa who refers to himself  as Nontshinga’s brand manager) and  the whole HotBox (owned by Nathan); they made it possible for me to become the two-times IBF junior flyweight world champion.”

Nathan announced before their departure last week that Nontshinga signed a multiple five-year contract with top British promoter Eddie Hearn, whose Matchroom Sport staged the Sunday fight.

Nontshinga flies back to the country on Tuesday afternoon, and on Wednesday he will be in the Eastern Cape where he has been invited by premier Lubabalo Mabuyane to be his guest during his state of the province address.

This was confirmed by CEO of Rumble Africa Promotions Nomfesane Nyatela, whose company was in charge of Nontshinga’s career from his first professional fight until he won the world belt against Flores in 2022.