Most boxing followers who converged at the Box Camp in Booysens, Johannesburg, on Sunday were happy that Xolisani ‘Nomeva’ Ndongeni dispatched Malawian boxer Crispin Moliati in the first round.
However, most of the boxing lovers were not aware that Ndongeni stepped into the ring with a heavy heart following the killing of his uncle back home in KwaBhaca, Eastern Cape.
“I’m celebrating both my birthday and the win. But I’m sad because my uncle was killed last week,” Ndongeni, who turned 34 on Monday, said.
“I’ll be going to my Eastern Cape home to bury my late uncle. After that, I will return to Johannesburg. Thereafter, I will leave for America where I will begin preparations for my next fight.”
The win over Moliati meant that Ndongeni, a former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) lightweight champion, arrested the slide having lost three times before meeting the Malawian. Ndongeni had lost to Ernesto Mercado, Arnold Barboza Junior and Raymond Muratalla. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
