‘Sequence’ is out for revenge
Sabelo Ngebiyana scored a minor upset when he dethroned Sikho “Sequence” Nqothole of his WBA Pan-African junior bantamweight title in Swaziland last Friday. Nqothole who hails from Mthatha but is based in Johannesburg was favoured going to the fight as he was unbeaten in 11 bouts having won seven by stoppages. He took time to speak about the loss.
BOXING MECCA: Sikho let me confess that I did not watch the fight but I hear that you lost.
SIKHO NQOTHOLE: Yes I lost but I am not gutted by it. In fact I think I was in command of the fight up until the sixth round when I was docked a point for holding and slipped but was given a count for a knockdown.
BM: Sounds like you are blaming the referee for the loss.
SN: Without sounding like I am making excuses I am definitely blaming the referee because he was against me throughout the fight.
BM: Who was the referee and where he did he come from?
SN: It was Ben Ncapayi from here. I do not know whether he had a bad day in the office or he is just incompetent but he played a big role in losing my title. But that is water under the bridge now.
BM: I am surprised by how you’re taking this loss as boxers usually take their first loss in a bad way.
SN: I put it behind me even before I left the ring because I took solace from the fact that at least he did not beat me with skills or something like that. He turned the fight dirty and believe you me it was the dirtiest fight I have ever been involved in. Even in a win I would not have felt good about that fight because it was one of those bouts that turn off the fans. I think you know those bouts that are often described as unwatchable.
BM: But now Sikho you have a loss in your fight record. How do you feel about that?
SN: Look, even the greatest fighters have losses on their record. It is how you rebound from a loss that is important and that is what I intend to do.
BM: Speaking about your intentions, what are you plans going forward?
SN: Rematch, nothing else and fortunately we already have a tentative date of March 15 at Coffee Bay in Transkei. We are yet to communicate with the Ngebiyana camp but from our side and the television side 15 March is locked down as the date.
BM: Did the promoters decide on the rematch or do you plead for it?
SN: They decided on their own just to underline the manner in which I lost. And Fox Sports had a scheduled date on 15 March so we slotted it in. We will see how Ngebiyana’s camp responds but even if they turn it down I can promise you one thing that down the line we will meet again.
BM: You are in high spirits for someone who has just lost.
SN: After I lost the Olympics qualifiers I took a year off in boxing to contemplate my future because of the manner in which I missed out. But in this fight there is nothing disgusting about it so I am good, in fact I am super. This is just a minor setback which I will correct down the line. My future plans are still intact and I am destined to achieve what I set to achieve. So yes you are correct when you say I am in high spirits.
BM: Thanks Sikho and good luck in your future endeavours.
SN: Thank you very much for the call and for giving me an opportunity to speak despite my loss.