PODCAST | ‘That was hurtful’: Nathan on Nontshinga’s awards snub, lack of support

Boxing promoter Colin Nathan says the snub of South Africa's only current boxing world  champion Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga at last week's South African Sports Awards was “hurtful”.

Nathan said the boxer not even being nominated for Sports Star of the Year, won by Banyana Banyana goalkeeper Andile Dlamini at the March 5 awards at Sun City, seemed to compound Nontshinga's frustrations at lack of support for a proposed defence of his title in South Africa on April 23. 

Nathan has been trying to secure funding from the government to stage the fight against Filipino Regie Suganob in the Eastern Cape. 

Nontshinga — who defeated Hector Flores in Hermosillo, Mexico, to lift the vacant IBF flyweight title in September last year — penned an emotional post on his social media platforms last week on the “struggles of being a South African professional boxer”.

His clash against Flores was named Fight of the Year at the IBF awards last month.

“We can only assume he was also taking it [badly] because there was no mention of him at the South African Sports Awards. Man that was hurtful,” Nathan told Marawa Sports Worldwide.

“Here is South Africa’s only world champion and not even a mention at the awards. There are no words for that.

“I don’t know if that post was directed at that but let’s assume it was.

“Moruti Mthalane, when he lost his [IBF flyweight title in 2021] to Sunny Edwards, was South Africa's last world champion — we are talking about close to two years.

“The kid [Nontshinga] goes to the hometown, disadvantaged, fighting Hector Flores, a huge underdog, and he pulls it off — and not even a recognition award.

“Certain things just stun you and certain things shock you, and I feel both.”

Reports have been Nontshinga was made promises of support by politicians and boxing figures who greeted him in a hero's welcome in East London arriving back from Mexico, but those have not materialised.

“I don’t know the merits of the promises and that’s not for me to open up and disclose — I would think the right person to speak on that would be Sivenathi,” Nathan said.

“But also, just to let you know, he’s not depressed, he’s just frustrated at the lack of support. The kid’s the champion of the world, he’s in good spirits to defend this fight.

“And I’m hoping now I have this platform the Eastern Cape government will get involved with supporting this fight. Because now we’re at a deadlock with the Filipinos, it looks like we’re headed for a purse bid and if that’s the case I really feel we need support.

“There was a cabinet reshuffle, we’ve got a new sports minister [Zizi Kodwa]. This is the perfect time, if the sports minister’s serious about boxing in this country, for him to get behind having this fight in the Eastern Cape.”

Nontshinga posted last week: “One day I will tell you about the struggles of being a South African professional boxer who has to go through fight preparations with close to zero support from local businesses, who has to train in inadequate facilities, who ... is only recognised when they bring a world title home, who has a sports minister who can’t even pronounce their name correctly and who still has to show up because he loves the sport and he has a family to feed. We pray for better days.”

Daily Dispatch reported on Tuesday Nontshinga’s camp is keeping its fingers crossed that a deal can be reached with the Filipino team before the fight goes to purse bids on Tuesday next week.

The IBF has set the purse bids auction in its New Jersey headquarters on April 11 after the camps of Nontshinga and Suganob failed to reach an agreement for the promotional rights of their IBF junior-flyweight title clash.

“There is always a chance that a deal could be reached with the Suganob camp,” Nathan told Dispatch.

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