This past weekend, another significant title fight occurred as South African IBF junior flyweight champion Sivenathi Nontshinga lost his title to Japanese veteran Masamichi Yabuki. The two headlined at the Aichi Sky Expo in Aichi, Japan, on Saturday, October 12th.
Sivenathi Nontshinga (13-2, 10 KO’s) was coming off a pivotal rematch against Mexican contender Adrian Curiel (24-6-1, 5 KO’s) who had beaten him in November of 2023 to claim the IBF junior flyweight (108 lbs) title for himself. However, in his first title defense after recapturing the IBF title, Japanese challenger Masamichi Yabuki (17-4, 16 KO’s)―a former world champion himself―the South African champion again suffered a crucial loss.
The bout between the two was fairly close, but Yabuki seemed to win most of the rounds with his experieince proving to be the decisive factor in this fight. Nontshinga, 25, adopted a backfoot approach for most of the fight, seeking to remain out of range of Yabuki’s wide but dangerous hooks. Nontshinga’s boxing was solid in the earlier rounds, but the overemphasis on defense culminated in a less-than-stellar offensive performance that became more blatantly clear as the match went on.
Yabuki, 32, mostly opted to pressure Nontshinga and test the South African champion’s defense, but it wasn’t until the 4th round that his offense fully started to unveil. Nontshinga tried to remain defensively responsible as Yabuki’s efforts in the ring increased, but Yabuki always appeared one step ahead when it came to Nontshinga’s own attacks, maintaining a fleet-footed approach that allowed him to tactically outmaneuver and defend against Nontshinga’s counters.
Gradually, Masamichi Yabuki won each round, a combination of his experience, constant yet careful pressure and spontaneous risk-taking culminating in him breaking down Sivenathi Nontshinga bit by bit―with Yabuki managing to rock Nontshinga a couple of times and eventually knock him down in the 8th round with a barrage of punches. By the 9th round, Yabuki took full advantage of the fact Nontshinga was weakened and shortly following the 1st minute of the round, a ferocious onslaught of combinations dropped Nontshinga for the second time of the match.
Sivenathi Nontshinga barely held on afterwards, and by the time the last minute was encroaching, Yabuki found his mark for the 3rd time that fight as his right hand floored Nontshinga once more. With Nontshinga obviously hurt, the referee was forced to intervene and call a stop the match, resulting in Yabuki being declared the winner by technical knockout (TKO).
With his capture of the IBF 108 lbs title, Yabuki now enjoys the distinction of being considered a two-time champion, while Nontshinga will be headed towards the back of the line where he must work his way up the ladder again for a shot at a world title.
