Thanks, but no thanks
Ace lightweight dumps Mayweather
THE experience he endured while in US has convinced Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni not to go back to the Mayweather gymnasium.
Ndongeni made the revelation after he joined Johannesburg trainer Sean Smith last week.
Although he is yet to sign a contract with Smith as he is awaiting to be released by US trainer Luis Tapia, Ndongeni is confident his woes will end.
“We are already looking for a fight next month,” he said.
Ndongeni left for US in September amid euphoria to train at the famed Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas with an option to sign with the Mayweather Promotions.
Both entities are owned by the world’s richest boxer Floyd Mayweather.
He signed a pact with Tapia who is one of many trainers honing boxers at the famed club.
However Ndongeni could not secure a fight as several promises were not kept.
He finally returned home in December with a promise that he would be sent a plane ticket to return to Las Vegas after the Christmas holidays.
However nothing came leaving the boxer dejected.
His handlers managed to secure a bout for him in a tournament organised by Rumble Africa Promotion where he stopped Yohane Banda of Malawi in two rounds. of it,
As the US situation did not change, Ndongeni decided to uproot to Johannesburg where he was once based when he trained at HotBox Gym under Colin Nathan and promoter Rodney Berman.
But this time he opted to train at Smith’s gym which already accommodates plenty of East London boxers such as Thulani Mbenge and Ayabonga Sonjica.
Asked if he would return to US, Ndongeni was forthright in his reply: “No, unless I am going there for a confirmed fight.”
He said the experience he gained there of training without a confirmation of a fight left him dejected.
“It is no use to train in a famed gymnasium if you will not get a fight,” he said.
“Yes I enjoyed my time there but the ambition of any boxer is to get a fight and not just enjoy training in a famed club.”
Ndongeni had been subjected to lengthy spells of inactivity while under Nathan and Berman tutelage, forcing him to bolt and head home in a bid to revive his career.
This was when the opportunity to train in the US came along.
While he is disappointed with the turn of events in US, he is soldiering on hoping to finally do what he does best and that is to fight inside the ring.
Now, 27, Ndongeni’s situation is baffling as he is one of the best drawcards in the country with all his bouts packed to capacity.
He is unbeaten in 23 bouts and is one of the best lightweight boxers in the world having won two national titles at junior-lightweight and lightweight divisions over and above the regional belts of world sanctioning bodies he owned.
Ndongeni also won the IBO world title which he vacated with promises that he would be steered towards bigger titles.