IBF light flyweight world champion Sivenathi Nontshinga will have a keen eye on Kenshiro Teraji’s defense of his WBA and WBC 108 pound titles against Hekkie Budler at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo this coming Monday.
Nontshinga (12-0, 9 KOs) will obviously be keeping tabs on fellow world champion Teraji, but will be in support of his countryman Budler when the pair collide in the Japanese capital. The 24 year old undefeated champion shares the Hot Box Gym in Johannesburg, both under the guidance of trainer and manager Colin Nathan.
“I’ve sparred many rounds with my Hekkie.” Nontshinga said in an exclusive interview for ProBox TV. “He’s always been my big brother, I always wanted to work with him when I was younger.”
Over a decade the two South African stablemates. Monday will mark Budler’s eleventh world title fight in a career that has spanned 16 years to date. Nontshinga has clearly benefited from joining the setup in Johannesburg, claiming the world title last year in Mexico against Hector Flores Calixto.
“Yeah, he really helped me ahead of my fight in Mexico,” Nonthsinga explained of his sparring sessions with Budler. “He also helped me when I was training for Regie Suganob. I had to help him in return for this fight in Japan. I’ve been together with him in his camp for Teraji. I was helping to make sure he was ready for his fight, making sure he was prepared fully and sparring together. I gave him a lot of rounds.
“I believe he is ready, I think he gets the win. We have a great team in South Africa, some of the best fighters in the world are at our gym. I have learnt so much myself from being there with Colin. I think the team all know what they need to do, Hekkie seems happy and he trusts his team. He’s going to Japan fully prepared to get the win. He’s going into a very very very tough fight, but I know he can do it and win the title. He’s the more experienced fighter, he’s a great boxer and slick. He’s a hard worker and a great thinker, I just think he has everything to win this. He’s very smart, Kenshiro needs to know when they get inside the ring he is dealing with a man who has fought with all the big guns and former unified champions, and won a lot of those fights! He comes from the same stable that produced Moruti Mthalane, who paved the way for us. There is something special about the place and our manager Colin Nathan. He has made some great things happen for us, I believe he will do it again on Monday for Hex.”
