Yabuki Is A Two-Time Champion After Beating Nontshinga
At the Aichi Sky Expo in Aichi, Japan, Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga put the IBF junior flyweight title at stake against local fighter and the one-time WBC champion Masamichi Yabuki.
A two-time champion, Nontshinga first won the then-vacant title with a split decision win over Hector Flores in September 2022. However, he shockingly lost the IBF belt when he suffered a second-round knockout to Adrien Curiel in November 2023. He regained the title with a thrilling tenth-round stoppage in a rematch with Curiel in February 2024.
Here, he faced the hard-hitting Yabuki, who first tasted championship gold after defeating 3kingsboxing’s top ten fighter Kenshiro Teraji in 2021. The challenger fighting on home soil was on a mission to win another world title.
DOMINANT FROM THE OPENING BELL
It was very much a chess match, as both fighters had respect for one another’s power.
In the early rounds, Yabuki (17-4, 16 KOs) was getting the better of the action, winning the battle of the jabs and landing more shots. Nontshinga (13-2, 10 KOs) was overly cautious and largely inaccurate with his punches.
By the middle rounds, Yabuki was in complete control. With fifteen seconds to go in round eight, he put the champion down with a terrific right hand to the head. After landing a series of shots in round nine, he dropped Nontshinga down for a second time in the fight.
You could sense the end was near, and Yabuki was on the hunt and went into attack mode. He poured on the punches until another right hand put down the champion for a third. Nontshinga was a beaten man, and the referee rightfully halted the contest.
At age 32, Yabuki put on one of the most impressive performances of his career as the quest to become two-time world champion is fulfilled. With the junior flyweight division currently in transition, if Yabuki continues to display the form he showed in this contest, he will be tough to beat at junior flyweight.
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