A career which took Xolisani ‘Nomeva’ Ndongeni to many places as he searched for glory has come to an end as the KwaBhaca-born boxer has decided to hang up his gloves, for good.
From Orient Theatre in East London to Grceland Casino in Secunda, Mpumalanga, and a number of overseas venues, the 35-year-old Ndongeni entertained boxing followers while winning and losing fights.
Ndongeni announced his retirement from the fistic sport after he suffered a second round stoppage loss to unbeaten Colombian boxer Jhon Elin Orobio Siniestra in a World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas junior-welterweight clash in Montreal, Canada, on Friday morning, South African time.
“It’s over for me now. It’s enough now, my time as a boxer has come to an end. I’m old now and I have young kids to take care of. It’s been a nice ride for me. It’s a pity that I ended my boxing career in a low. Be that as it may, I didn’t want to be told by anyone that I must quit. I really didn’t want to be pushed to quit,” Ndongeni said.
On the fight against Orobio, Ndongeni, who on 33 times and lost eight fights, said: “He’s got very strong punches and he showed me flames. He didn’t give me a chance, he put me under pressure and I couldn’t take it anymore thus I quit in round two. I was fit for the fight, but the guy was too good.”
On what the former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) and South African lightweight champion will do now that he has quit as a professional boxer, Ndongeni said: “Be rest assured that I’m not going to be lost to boxing even though at the moment I’m not sure what exactly I will be doing next.”
Ndongeni has won a number of titles among them being the SA, World Boxing Federation (WBF) International junior-lightweight, IBO International lightweight and African Boxing Union (ABU) junior-welterweight crowns. – Monwabisi Jimlongo
