Sivenathi Nontshinga Calls Out the Flaws in Masamichi Yabuki
Two-time IBF junior flyweight champion Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga (13-1, 10 KOs) will defend the IBF title on October 12 against mandatory challenger and one-time WBC 108-pound champion Masamichi Yabuki (16-4, 15 KOs). The mission for Nontshinga is two-fold. The first is to win. But more importantly, he wants to show that he’s a fighter with long-term staying power.
Nontshinga versus Yabuki will occur on the challenger’s home turf of Nagoya, Japan. During an exclusive interview with the news outlet SA Boxing Talk, the defending champion discussed his upcoming fight. While the 25-year-old South African respects his opponent, he feels that the hard-hitting Yabuki is more than beatable.
“He’s a puncher. But I’m younger than him. So, the reflexes, speed, and movement won’t be the same. I believe he has never fought a clever boxer like me before because I can fight as well as I can box . . . He’s got a lot of mistakes, a lot of flaws, things that we can sit down and work on. I’ve got a good team, the strongest team ever. Once again, I will prevail . . . He comes in straight to the punches, and I got power. I will knock him out. I’m telling you, I will knock him out.”
A FIGHTER WITH A LOT TO PROVE
After initially winning the IBF title against Hector Flores and successfully defending the belt against Regie Suganob, Nontshinga lost the belt by a shocking second-round knockout to Adrien Curiel in November 2023. But to his credit, he regained the title with a dramatic tenth-round stoppage over Curiel in a February 2024 rematch.
The skill and talent of The Special One are very apparent. Nontshinga has an excellent jab, is fast, athletic, and is a good puncher. But some followers of the lower-weight divisions still have questions about his chin and his uneven performances in the ring.
Is he the fighter who looked like the future of the junior flyweight division during his wins over Flores or Suganob? Or, is the fighter who was KO’d in his first fight with Curiel? Nontshinga has his chance to show that he’s the real deal in October against Yabuki.
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