The team of SA’s lone world boxing champion, Sivenathi Nontshinga, departs for Japan on Thursday, determined to dispel perceptions that he might not return with his IBF junior-flyweight crown.
The East London boxer defends his title against Japan’s power-punching challenger, Masamichi Yabuki, at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname on Saturday next week.
Nontshinga, 25, who is enjoying his second reign as IBF champion, leaves with his father and assistant trainer, Thembani Best Gopheni, chief trainer and manager Colin Nathan, cut man Bernie Pailman and members of online boxing channel Boxing Talk.
They will be joined by Matchroom Boxing matchmaker Kevin Rooney jnr to form one of the biggest boxing technical teams to have accompanied an SA boxer overseas.
Nathan said preparations had gone well and the team had worked on a strategy to counter Yabuki’s power punches.
“We are ready for Yabuki and we know he punches like a mule but we have a strategy for him,” he said.
The 32-year-old Japanese is the toughest opponent Nontshinga has faced since becoming a two-time champion after beating Mexican Hector Flores in September 2022.
Nontshinga surrendered the title to another Mexican, Adrien Curiel, in a November upset in Monaco but regained the belt when he stopped Curiel in his own backyard in February.
Yabuki is the new champ’s first challenger.
The hard-hitting Japanese shocked his compatriot, Kenshiro Teraji, when he relieved him of his WBC junior-flyweight belt via a 10th-round knockout in September 2021.
However, Teraji, who was targeted by the Nontshinga camp for a unification clash, regained the belt six months later by stopping Yabuki in three rounds.
Yabuki rebounded with three victories — all by stoppage — to vault back to title contention, though he is getting the title shot after top-rated Filipino Christian Araneta was sidelined by injury.
Though Nontshinga avenged his lone loss in 14 bouts to Curiel, there are big concerns about how he will contend with the power of the Japanese, who has won all but one of his 16 bouts by knockouts against four losses.
Memories of Nontshinga’s knockout by the light-punching Curiel have raised questions over whether he will be able to handle a bigger puncher.
Another area of concern is that Nontshinga was losing in the Curiel rematch before rallying to force a stoppage.
But Nathan said the team had studied video footage of Yabuki and detected areas to exploit.
“Sive is a world-class practitioner and he thrives on competing at this level against these kinds of opponents.”
On Saturday, Phumelela Cafu also leaves for Japan, where he will challenge Kosei Tanaka for the WBO junior bantamweight title at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on October 14.
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