He might have had a hand in the premature end of his boxer Xolisani ‘Nomeva’ Ndongeni’s fight against Arnold Barboza Junior, but boxing trainer Mzamo ‘Chief’ Njekanye strongly believes that his charge showed boxing followers that he knows his way inside the ring despite being stopped by the American.
Ndongeni suffered an eighth round stoppage loss to Barboza Jr when he challenged the American for his World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Intercontinental junior-welterweight title at The Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Sunday morning (South African time).
This was the second time that the former SA junior-lightweight and lightweight champion got stopped since he made his professional debut in May 2010. Ndongeni was stopped in the sixth round by former SA junior-welterweight champion Prince Dlomo in October 2020.
“We did what we had to do. Unfortunately, we didn’t win the fight. But we showed people who we are,” Duncan Village-based Njekanye said.
Ndongeni, a former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) lightweight champion, became Barboza Jr’s 29th victim as the American registered his 11th stoppage victory while the 33-year-old KwaBhaca-born boxer dropped to 31 wins (18 knockouts) and four defeats.
“We will soon have another fight. And there’s hope that we might be back here in America for our next fight,” Njekanye concluded.
