Sikho Nqothole has had his fair share of boxing heartache, but the Mthatha boxer is not about to throw in the towel in his pursuit of glory as he looks to continue his redemption against Filipino Raymark Alicaba at Carnival City in Johannesburg on Saturday.
From being denied an opportunity to represent SA at the 2016 Rio Olympics when he qualified through the African continent, which was barred by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, Nqothole’s pursuit of glory in the professional ranks also hit speed bumps.
While seemingly on course for boxing’s pinnacle, Nqothole surprisingly lost to spoiler Sabelo Ngebiyane in back-to-back bouts, the last by a stoppage.
He picked himself up and notched up notable victories to crack the world ratings.
Rated sixth in IBF rankings with a title shot within touching distance, Nqothole took an ill-advised bout against Rene Calixto Bibiano in his Mexican backyard with no influential manager behind him.
Rated outside the top 10, the Mexican wanted a lofty-ranked opponent to advance his world title shot and felt Nqothole was a safe bet.
Accompanied by his Mdantsane-born trainer, Phumzile Matyhila, the Johannesburg-based pair appeared to have wrapped up the bout, but fighting in a foreign country backfired as he was adjudged a loser on points.
Nqothole was so heartbroken that he went to his Mthatha home to appease his ancestors and asked for guidance.
“I must admit I was in a bad space as all the misfortunes, including the denied Olympic dream, combined to deliver a spiritual blow,” he said.
The Bibiano loss would provide more heartache when the Mexican was subsequently mandated to contest for the vacant IBF junior-bantamweight title relinquished by Fernando Martinez after the sanctioning body declined to sanction the Argentinian’s rematch against Kazuto Ioka.
Martinez beat the Japanese in a return bout only featuring the Argentinian’s WBA title a fortnight ago.
Nqothole watched Bibiano huffing and puffing for the vacant belt against compatriot Willibaldo Garcia in a poor clash that could not convince the judges to give it to either of them, prompting a disappointing draw in December.
“I could have cried when I watched the poor standard of he bout, with both boxers doing nothing to show they wanted the title.
“I felt I could have beaten both on the same day without raising a sweat.
“To see someone, whom I beat but was denied a win, fighting like that for a world title broke my heart.”
Bibiano and Garcia are scheduled to engage in a rematch in Mexico on Friday to decide the IBF title, a day before Nqothole’s ring return against Alicaba.
The bout will mark the second clash for Nqothole since his loss to Bibiano, having knocked out Namibian Jafet Amukwa in September.
Having realised the importance of having a world-acclaimed team behind him, Nqothole has since joined No Doubt Management, which convinced the IBF to keep him in the top 15 of its rankings.
Now the boxer nicknamed “Sequence” is gunning for a change of fortune and to finally get his day in the sun.
Daily Dispatch
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