An unhappy Colin ‘Nomakanjani’ Nathan is weighing up his options after fight referee Alfredo Uruzquieta stopped Landile ‘Man Down’ Ngxeke’s bout against José Manuel Salas Reyes in Mexico on Sunday morning, South African time.
Nathan is adamant that Uruzquieta stopped the bout prematurely as he believes that Ngxeke was still in it when the Mexican handed his compatriot Reyes the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight title via a seventh round stoppage win.
“I’m very upset, I’m very angry with what happened. I’ve already started plotting. I know we were behind, but we were in the fight. We had enough rounds to win the fight,” Nathan said.
Nathan added: “I’m looking at bringing Ngxeke back to Mexico for a warm-up fight before the World Cup begins next year.”
This was Ngxeke’s second career loss, which ended inside the distance as the Sada-born South African bantamweight champion was once stopped by Filipino boxer Jayr Raquinel in 2022. Ngxeke has a professional record of 16 wins with eight knockouts, two defeats and a draw.
And following the win, Reyes from Tijuana in Baja California, Mexico, improved his record to 17 victories with 11 stoppages. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
