SA’s newest world boxing champion Sivenathi Nontshinga will not be lost to local rings, despite signing with a powerful English promotions company.
This was revealed by Nontshinga’s SA promoter Rumble Africa Promotions after the 23-year-old boxer signed a multi-fight contract with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
The deal was clinched after the Chicken Farm boxer seized the IBF junior-flyweight title by beating Mexican Hector Flores in a gruelling fight in Hermosillo a fortnight ago.
By joining Matchroom Boxing, Nontshinga will be fighting exclusively on giant streaming service DAZN, as all Matchroom boxers do.
This has raised concerns that the boxer nicknamed “Special One” could be lost to local rings and take his boxing abroad as Hearn has several deals across the globe.
But Rap, which represents the boxer, allayed these fears, insisting the champion would still fight at home.
Nontshinga’s win over Flores ended SA’s drought of producing a legitimate world champion since his new stablemate, Moruti Mthalane, surrendered the IBF flyweight crown to Englishman Sunny Edwards in April 2021.
“We as Rumble Africa are extremely happy with how Sive’s career has been handled and we cannot thank Colin Nathan enough for putting our boxers on a pedestal,” Rap CEO Nomfesane Nyathela said.
Nathan who handles the training duties with Nontshinga’s father, Thembani Gopheni, described the deal as one of the best involving a SA boxer.
“I have been in this game for a while and I think Sive’s boxing life is going to change for the better with this deal,” he said.
Both parties declined to reveal the figures involved, though is believed the first defence might net Nontshinga close to R1m.
The venue and date have not been decided, though Nathan said he would prefer that the boxer return early in 2023.
“Sive was involved in a gruelling fight in Mexico and I want his body to completely heal.
In fact, I want him to take boxing out of his mind for a while and relax with his family.”
However, the team is busy behind the scenes, with DispatchLIVE able to confirm that one of the provinces expressing a big interest in hosting the fight is KwaZulu-Natal.
Nyathela declined to reveal much, saying negotiations were continuing.
It has yet to be decided whether DAZN can stream Nontshinga’s defence in SA as the streaming giants have yet to do so on the continent.
Asked about this, Nathan said: “I think we will handle that when we get there. But Sky Sports and DAZN were able to show Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Oleksander Usyk recently, so these things can be worked out.”
DispatchLIVE
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