Recently-crowned Mexican IBF junior flyweight champion Adrian Curiel will defend his title in his home country of Mexico as he re-engages with previous IBF titleholder Sivenathi Nontshinga from South Africa. The two had fought previously last November where Curiel upset all odds by knocking out Nontshinga in the second round of their bout. The event, set to be promoted by Matchroom, will be hosted at the Auditorium Guelaguetza in Mexico on Friday, February 16.
November 4th of 2023 saw then-IBF junior flyweight champion Sivenathi Nontshinga (12-1, 9 KO’s) stumble surprisingly to a second-round knockout loss against Mexican contender Adrian Curiel (24-4-1, 5 KO’s). Despite Nonthinga’s own prevalent career knockout ratio of a 75% as opposed to Curiel’s 20%, the knockout loss he suffered was a surprising turn of events given the South African fighter had also been undefeated.
With the rematch now set to be held in Mexico, Curiel’s home country, Nontshinga will face even steeper odds to reclaim his IBF 108 lbs title. With the November loss fresh in mind and home fans against him, Nontshinga will need to quickly absorb the lessons from his last match as he prepares himself against Curiel.
Adrian Curiel will be considered the favorite as he engages in his first world title defense, but he will need to go into his match against Sivenathi Nontshinga with the same mentality as before he became a world champion. With Nontshinga out for revenge and Curiel’s knockout win arguably considered to be somewhat of a fluke―given the betting odds of his previous match which made him a heavy underdog, Adrian Curiel will need to be at his very best to overcome the upcoming onslaught of Nontshinga.
Further bouts for the Matchroom-promoted undercard are set to be announced in the upcoming week, but Mexican former WBA featherweight world champion Mauricio Lara (26-3-1, 19 KO’s) has been confirmed to make his first appearance of the year in the ring following his May 27th stoppage loss to Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KO’s) last year. Lara will be facing fellow Mexican Daniel Lugo (27-2, 18 KO’s) in a bid to get back on the track of world title contention.
