With contracts having been signed and the date of his next fight confirmed, Landile ‘Man Down’ Ngxeke is now hard at work preparing to meet Mexican boxer Jose Salas Reyes in the most important bout of his life.
Ngxeke, who has already spent more than a month in camp, faces Reyes in a vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight clash in Mexico City on Saturday, 13 December (Sunday morning, 14 December, South African time).
“Yeah, we have known about the date for a while, that’s why we have been hard at work preparing. There was a bit of back and forth with the agreement, but now I have a deal for Landie, and he is extremely happy with the terms. I also want to thank Larry Wainstein of Boxing 5 for all his support,” Colin Nathan said.
Ngxeke remarked: “I woke up this morning and saw the post, and I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s happening.’ On the 13th, the IBF world title belt must be wrapped around my waist; I’m ready.”
This is a massive fight for Ngxeke, who is the reigning South African bantamweight champion whose record reads 16 victories with half of those wins coming from knockouts, a loss and a single draw.
The IBF rates 30-year-old Ngxeke in fourth position, eighth by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and is third in the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) ratings.
Rated third by the IBF, the 23-year-old Reyes, an unbeaten southpaw from Tijuana, Baja Californina, last fought when he defeated his Mexican compatriot Arturo Ivan Hernandez Najera six months ago. Reyes has won all his 16 fights with 10 of those victories being stoppages.
