By Monwabisi Jimlongo
Boxing trainer Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan said that it was a well worked plan, which helped his boxer Sivenathi ‘Special One’ Nontshinga secure a win over Regie Suganob from the Philippines at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) on Sunday evening.
Nontshinga fought brilliantly against Suganob to ensure that he successfully defended his International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-flyweight title with a unanimous decision victory. Nontshinga won the fight by 116-111 on two score cards with the third judge giving him the bout by 117-110.
“If you looked at Suganob’s previous opponents, they were all aggressive guys, fighting on the front foot. You could see how frustrated he was getting. Our plan was to keep it long, lot of triggers, level changes, square up on the jab, create a distance and let him keep walking in lines and get him picked off. That’s exactly how the plan worked out. And the first round, what a beautiful right hand,” Nathan remarked.
“Suganob is a very skilled fighter. He’s not your typical Filipino fighter who fights in lines. He’s got a good variety of shots. We had to negate what he had.”
The award-winning Nathan added: “I just want to enjoy this moment. It’s time to enjoy South Africa’s boxer of the year and South Africa’s trainer and manager of the year irrespective of whether there’s a trophy given or not.”
Meanwhile, after making a successful first defence of his crown Nontshinga revealed that he’s going to rest while waiting for his management team to map the way forward.
“Right now, I will take some rest. To be honest, I stuck to the game plan that was to outbox him. He didn’t catch me with some big punches. I was aware all the time, this is why I remain undefeated,” Nontshinga said.
“He is a good boxer, he fought for the number one spot and he won. I respect him as another boxer. I believe he’s gonna be a champion one day.”
Nontshinga, who won the Male Boxer of the Year gong at the South African Boxing Awards in Durban on Friday, is now unbeaten in 12 bouts having stopped nine of his opponents while Suganob dropped to 13 wins and a loss.
