Regie Suganob (left) and Sivenathi Nontshinga (right). | Facebook photos
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The world title showdown between the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) world junior flyweight champion Sivenathi Nontshinga of South Africa and Boholano mandatory challenger Regie Suganob has been rescheduled to July 2 from June 16, 2023, in East London, South Africa.
Rumble Africa Promotions, the official boxing outfit that promotes the world title bout, officially announced it on Friday, June 9, 2023 through a Facebook post.
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Reason for rescheduling
It stated that Rumble Africa Promotions had to move the world title bout to a later date due to ‘lengthy’ negotiation and agreement with its broadcasting counterpart.
“We are super excited that this event will now be live on TV and people will have access to it. It’s a massive boost for the boxers. In particular, for Sive Nontshinga who is a classy boxer and deserves to be watched all over the world,” said Rumble Africa Promotions chairman Thembalethu Ntutu.
“We thank SuperSport for this opportunity. The live broadcast is also an opportunity for us to put a world class event for our Sponsors, Boxing South Africa, and importantly, the boxing lovers in the Eastern Cape and globally,” Ntutu said.
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World title showdown development
For Suganob’s camp, the PMI Bohol Boxing Promotions, they are waiting for further development on Rumble Africa Promotions’ sudden decision to reschedule the bout with less than a week to its original schedule.
The PMI Bohol Boxing Promotions that is based in Tagbilaran City, Bohol will wait for 15 days to see if Rumble Africa Promotions will communicate with them and issue them plane tickets and accommodation for their South Africa trip.
Otherwise they will consider the world title bout postponed.
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The world title bout between Suganob and Nontshinga is one of the most-anticipated bouts in the Philippine boxing scene this year.
This is because a victory for Suganob means that he will be currently the second Filipino boxing world champion, joining WBA/IBF world super bantamweight king Marlon Tapales.
Suganob earned the world title shot by beating Omega Boxing Gym’s Mark Vicelles in their world title eliminator last February in Calape, Bohol. He has a clean record of 13 wins with four knockouts.
Meanwhile, Nontshinga is also unbeaten in 11 fights with nine knockouts.
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