Sivenathi Nontshinga

Nontshinga was raised in Newlands, a "chicken farm community" located at the entrance to Mdantsane township in Eastern Cape.^[3] His father, Thembani Gopheni, is his trainer and his handler.^[3]

Nontshinga made his professional debut on 30 July 2017 at the age of 18, defeating Sandile Wessels in a third-round finish in East London. After four stoppages in his first four fights, he was soon recognized as a promising teen sensation in South Africa.^[3] In only his fifth pro fight, he defeated Tisetso Modisadife for the vacant African light-flyweight title.^[4]

On 7 April 2019, he scored a first-round knockout over Adam Yahaya to win the vacant IBF International light-flyweight title in Port Elizabeth.^[5][6] In his first title defense, Nontshinga defeated compatriot Siyabonga Siyo, a fighter he idolised growing up.^[4] He finished Siyo with a barrage of blows in the ninth round to make it eighth stoppage wins in eighth fights.^[7] He retained his belt again on 8 March 2020 by defeating Ivan Soriano, ranked number 5 by the IBF, at the Orient Theatre in East London.^[8] Nontshinga suffered a swollen left eye early, but after knocking him down at the end of the fourth round, he dropped the veteran for good in the fifth with a right cross.^[9][10]

After more than a year without a fight due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nontshinga defeated Filipino prospect Christian Araneta in an IBF title eliminator in Port Elizabeth on 24 April 2021. Although he was knocked down in the 12th round, he was favored unanimously on the judges' scorecards (115–112, 114–113, 114–113).^[11]

Nontshinga faced the undefeated Hector Flores for the vacant IBF light flyweight title on 3 September 2022, following a seventeen-month absence from the sport, at the Centro de Usos Múltiples in Hermosillo, Mexico and was as such his first fight outside of his native South Africa. The bout was scheduled for the undercard of the Juan Francisco Estrada and Argi Cortes super flyweight title bout.^[12] Nontshinga won the fight by split decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 116–111 and 114–113 in his favor, while the third judge scored it 115–112 for Flores. Nontshinga scored the sole knockdown of the fight in the second round, as he floored his opponent with a right hook which looped around the guard.^[13] The newly crowned Nontshinga signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing four days after capturing the vacant belt.^[14] The championship bout was later awarded "Fight of the Year" honors by the IBF.^[15]

On February 28, 2023, Nontshinga was ordered by the IBF to make a mandatory title defense against Regie Suganob.^[16] The title fight was booked to take place on June 16, 2023,^[17] at the International Convention Centre in East London, South Africa.^[18] The event organizers, Rumble Africa Promotions, later postponed the event to July 2 to allow SABC Sport to setup TV coverage.^[19] Nontshinga won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 116–112 and one scorecard of 117–110 in his favor.^[20]

Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing confirmed on September 11, 2023, that Nontshinga would make a voluntary title defense against the #11 ranked IBF light-flyweight contender Adrian Curiel. The fight took place at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin in Monte Carlo, Monaco on November 4, 2023,^[21][22] as the co-main event to the IBF super-featherweight title bout between Joe Cordina and Edward Vazquez.^[23] Nontshinga lost the fight by an upset second-round knockout.^[24] An immediate rematch was booked for February 16, 2024, and took place in Oaxaca City, Mexico.^[25] Nontshinga reclaimed the title by a tenth-round technical knockout. He knocked Curiel down 44 seconds into the tenth round, before forcing the referee to wave the fight off with a flurry of punches on a cornered and unresponsive Curiel.^[26]

Nontshinga lost the title in his first defense against Masamichi Yabuki, going down to a ninth round technical knockout defeat at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Japan, on 12 October 2024.^[27][28]