Nqothole vows to respect Alicaba despite the Filipino's poor record

WBO global junior-bantamweight champion, Sikho “Sequence” Nqothole, says every boxer who steps inside the ring deserves to be treated with respect, irrespective of their fight record, because they are all equally capable of winning.

He says judging an opponent based on their fight record can be misleading because records don’t fully capture the quality of the opposition and the difficulty of the fights.

Nqothole was responding to a question about what he thought of Reymark “Lucky Boy” Alicaba, who has nine wins and six losses with four stoppages. The Filipino will be Nqothole’s dance partner in Boxing 5’s international tournament at Carnival City in Brakpan on May 24. Action will begin at 7pm.

Their bout is scheduled for 10 rounds.

“I don’t look at a boxer based on his record because those are just stats, which say nothing about the boxer’s true capability,” warned Nqothole, who has stopped 12 of his 19 opponents, against three losses.

Rated in the top 15 by three of the four most respected sanctioning boxing bodies in the world, Nqothole added: “I respect every boxer who signs a contract to face me. Every contender wants to dethrone you. So, winning a title puts you in a situation where you must work harder because you are the target.

“So, I am going out there on May 24 to give my best and defend my ratings.”

Nqothole, whose career is guided by trainer/manager Colin “Nomakanjani” Nathan’s No Doubt Management, is placed at the 13th spot in the junior-bantamweight class by the IBF.

“My weight division is about action; you can be rated No 2, but if you are inactive, you will find yourself at No 10,” he said. “I’m happy to be in action; if I had my way, I would have three fights a year – one every three months or so – so that my ratings improve."

Nathan said: “I want to keep him busy until we get to a position where he is nominated for a title elimination fight. He needs to win impressively; Sikho trains hard in our facility [the HotBox Gym in Balfour, Johannesburg] so I expect him to look good.”

Nqothole’s last fight was in September when he demolished Namibian Jafet “Masterio” Amukwa in two rounds. Alicaba lost his last bout to Arar “Asero” Andales in February.

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