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Former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) and World Boxing Federation (WBF) world champion Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni (29) believes he has passed the test of time to prove his fitness to box at the highest level.
Despite losing on points to American Devin Haney in a 10-round match in January, Ndongeni says the fight was more about testing his mental strength than anything else.
This comes after life handed him a string of knockouts outside of the ring, leaving his detractors questioning if he still has what it takes to go back to the square jungle called a boxing ring.
First, he was robbed of his R1 million payout after winning the Premier Boxing League in 2015. As if that was not enough, Sijuta Promotions then failed to pay him his R100 000 purse money for defeating Tanzanian Emilio Norfat in 2016. The amount was later settled by Boxing SA after negotiations with the promoter determined that the national boxing governing body would settle the bill and be reimbursed by the promoter.
In June 2017, he was scheduled to fight against Ghanaian Razak Nettey, but the bout was cancelled. Later that year and despite being promised a shot at one of the big world titles, he spent a fruitless four months under trainer and manager Luis Tapia at the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas in the US.
At one point, he was on the verge of giving up. He moved back to his family home in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape and s wore not to set foot inside the ring again. But he bounced back and decided to prove that he was not down and out. Last year, he packed his bags and headed to Johannesburg to join Smiths Boxing Gym in Fourways.
Ndongeni’s professional career started with ease in 2010 under the stewardship of trainer Mzamo Njekanye at South Africa’s boxing mecca in East London, Eastern Cape. Initially, it all went smoothly for the young pugilist, who notched up 22 fights without a loss – which made the setbacks of the past four years even more of a shock.
Despite the cancelled 2017 fight, he won three other fights in 2017 and last year for a 25-0 record, with 13 victories coming via the short route – knockouts. (After his most recent fight that now stands at 25-1.)
Speaking to City Press from Smiths Boxing Gym a month after his loss against Haney, he recalls that his streak of bad luck got to a point where some thought his career was cursed, despite his clean record.
“I am actually the luckiest boxer,” he says bravely. “I’m not cursed.” And it does all seem to be coming together for him under trainer Sean Smith. He went back to the US last month to take on the promising young prospect Haney, who came to the fight with an impressive record of 20-0 with 13 KOs.
The singing and cheering that usually comes with Ndongeni’s flamboyant entrances into the ring in front of his home crowd was absent in Louisiana in the US – he was facing a crowd favourite.
Despite being knocked down in the second round, he dusted himself off and went on to finish the bout. The South African appeared to be in good shape against the 20-year-old, using his counter-punching effectively, but he could not match Haney’s power and home advantage. The judges scored the fight 100-89, 100-89, 99-90 unanimously for Haney.
“I lost the fight and I knew that I had lost it even before the results were announced,” said Ndongeni. However, he is happy with his performance and feels unbeaten: “I fought a balanced fight. And I am still standing.”
He focuses instead on reminiscing about the two fights he says were the hardest of his career.
The first was when he got his first knockdown against the hard-hitting former South African lightweight champion Patrick “Hammer” Malinga. He went on to win the fight on points.
A fight he marks as even more challenging was against former two-time IBF champion Mzonke “The Rose of Khayelitsha” Fana, who, at the ripe age of 41, was expected to be a walkover for Ndongeni. It turned out to be the most difficult fight.
“He was an old man already. I was expecting to knock Mzonke out, but there were too many things on my mind. Mzonke gave me the hardest fight; he was making me think.”
Ndongeni, relaxed and excited to relate the story about how he lost in style, is a totally different man from the one who contemplated quitting a few years ago.
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