Sivenathi ‘Special One’ Nontshinga’s preparations for next month’s world title fight against Japanese boxer Masamichi Yabuki received a shot in the arm after he was nominated in this year’s Eastern Cape Sport and Recreation Achievers Awards.
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior-flyweight champion has been nominated for the Sport Star of the Year award alongside Anika Maree (powerlifting), Jaco Smit (para-athletics) and Ntombomhlontlo Somtswayi (para-table tennis).
The 25-year-old Nontshinga lost his IBF title to Mexican boxer Adrian Curiel Dominguez in Monaco after he was stopped in the second round last November. Nontshinga then stopped Dominguez in a rematch held in Oaxaca, Mexico, in February this year.
The awards ceremony is going to be held at the Boardwalk Hotel in Gqeberha on Friday, 11 October, and will be out of the country at the time as he will be defending his title against Yabuki on the 12th of October.
Nontshinga’s nomination is justified after he got sidelined in 2023 even though he had earlier won the Best Male Boxer of the Year award at South African Boxing Awards ceremony held in Durban in June last year.
Meanwhile, the voting lines are open until Wednesday, 9 October, and you can use 49949 to vote for the two-time world champion.
