The entire boxing world may have given Duncan Village-bred Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni no chance to beat Puerto Rican star Nestor Bravo in their WBA Intercontinental junior-welterweight title clash in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, but the boxer and his childhood mentor did not doubt that he would pull off the upset.
Ndongeni inflicted the first professional loss on Bravo who had been unbeaten in 23 bouts and was on course to a world title shot, commanding lofty ratings in world sanctioning bodies.
The WBA ranked the 31-year-old sixth while the WBO placed him 12th, making him eligible to challenge for both titles if any of the champions gave him a crack.
Featured on the undercard of Puerto Rican star and former world champion Subriel Matias’s IBF junior-welterweight title eliminator against Gabriel Gollaz Velenzuela at Coliseo Tomas Dones, the Ndongeni-Bravo clash was aimed at creating interest in the division for the winners.
After Matias prevailed by an eighth-round stoppage, Bravo was expected to follow suit to create interest for an all-Puerto Rican world title clash.
But Ndongeni flipped the script despite being shipped to the Latin American country as a journeyman having lost four of his last five bouts with the win coming against hapless Malawian Casprin Moliati.
His childhood mentor, Mzamo “Chief” Njekanye, who convinced the KwaBhaca-born boxer to ditch rugby for boxing, said he knew Ndongeni would upset the applecart against the unbeaten opponents he had been pitted against abroad.
“I knew that one of these days, he would upset one of them because he always takes these fights seriously and him living a clean life while dedicating himself in the gym was bound to produce these kinds of results,” he said.
While Ndongeni lost to unbeaten stars such as Devin Haney, Ernesto Mercado, Arnold Barboza Jnr, Raymond Muratalla and Alan Abel Chaves, he held his own against all of them, snapping some of their knockout streaks.
Haney went on to become an undisputed world champion, Muratalla and Mercado are on their way to world title shots while Barboza, who remains the only opponent to stop Ndongeni, is also scheduled to challenge for the WBO title.
Ndongeni, whose rags to riches story is one of the only few boxing achievements after fusing business ventures into his career, attributed the win to his unwavering belief in himself.
“Fighting in the backyard of any boxer is difficult, much more an unbeaten star, but I went to Puerto Rico believing in myself and knowing what to do to win,” he wrote in his social media account.
He also credited his church, Bryanston Methodist, for praying for him and giving him hope to succeed.
Having been previously rated second by the WBA in the lightweight division when he was the IBO champion, Ndongeni said he was hoping to take Bravo’s ratings and revive his world title aspirations.
“I am now in the world title mix and will be ready any time either of the champions come calling.”
The 34-year-old, who uses boxing to train celebrities in Gauteng, enhancing his marketability, was already planning to wind down his career having planned farewell bouts in East London.
But the win over Bravo has given him a major boost to keep going in what is one of the boxing success stories for an individual plucked from rural obscurity.
“I was about to give up and this has just happened and I am grateful to God for showing up for me in my darkest corner.”
Ndongeni still sports an impressive fight record of just six losses suffered against world-class opposition in 38 bouts.
Daily Dispatch
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