To turn around a devastating knockout defeat in boxing takes character and that’s exactly what South African star Sivenathi Nontshinga displayed in abundance when he scored a sensational 10th-round TKO over Adrian Curiel on Friday. The victory saw Nontshinga regain the IBF light flyweight title.
In November, Nontshinga (13-1 (10 KOs) was brutally stopped in two rounds by the Mexican fighter who entered the bout as a prohibitive underdog. It was a seismic shock that was later named The Sporting News Upset of the Year.
Understandably, Curiel (24-5-1, 5 KOs) entered the rematch with extreme confidence and he fought brilliantly through the first seven rounds, pressuring his opponent from bell to bell. However, in round nine, Nontshinga scored a brutal combination that hurt the champion and turned the fight completely around. Suddenly, Curiel was running on empty and he was completely overwhelmed in the tenth.
Nontshinga, known as “The Special One”, moves back up to the No. 2 spot, while Curiel only drops one place in recognition of a terrific performance. This change drops WBO titleholder Jonathan Gonzalez down to the No. 4 position. The Puerto Rican champ returns on March 2 against the unheralded Rene Santiago (12-3) on the Amanda Serrano vs. Nina Meinkle undercard.
Light flyweight rankings: The Sporting News’ top 12
| Rank | Fighter | Titles | Record | Movement (Feb. 18) |
| 1 | Kenshiro Teraji | WBA, WBC, Ring | 23-1 (14 KOs) | – |
| 2 | Sivenathi Nontshinga | IBF | 13-1 (10 KOs) | +2 |
| 3 | Adrian Curiel | 24-5-1 (5 KOs) | -1 | |
| 4 | Jonathan Gonzalez | WBO | 27-3-1 (14 KOs) | -1 |
| 5 | Hekkie Budler | 35-5 (11 KOs) | – | |
| 6 | Masamichi Yabuki | 15-4 (14 KOs) | – | |
| 7 | Elwin Soto | 20-3 (13 KOs) | – | |
| 8 | Carlos Canizales | 26-2-1 (19 KOs) | – | |
| 9 | Daniel Matellon | 13-1-2 (7 KOs) | – | |
| 10 | Shokichi Iwata | 11-1 (8 KOs) | – | |
| 11 | Regie Suganob | 14-1 (4 KOs) | – | |
| 12 | Miel Fajardo | 11-1-2 (10 KOs) | – |
The best in the world at light flyweight: Kenshiro Teraji
Teraji, 32, won the WBC crown in 2017 at the expense of Ganigan Lopez. He made eight successful defences before a Covid-induced loss to countryman Masamichi Yabuki that was later avenged via a brutal third-round knockout.
Since then, Teraji has unified the WBA title and added The Ring championship to his collection by battering Hiroto Kyoguchi into submission.
The Sporting News’ Boxing Ratings
Rules | Men’s P4P | Women’s P4P
Heavyweight | Cruiserweight | Light Heavyweight | Super Middleweight | Super Lightweight | Lightweight | Super Featherweight | Featherweight | Light Flyweight | Minimumweight
