SA has boxing champ with Nathan in his corner

Award-winning Johannesburg boxing trainer Colin Nathan’s protégé, Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga, was looking knackered, slouching on a stool in the corner of the boxing ring, his feet spread out lackadaisically in front of him.

The Eastern Cape-born 23-year-old boxer had just walked to his corner following nine non-stop rounds of his International Boxing Federation light flyweight title bout against undefeated Mexican Hector “Baby Bull” Flores at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico, on 3 September.

Immediately, Nathan’s motivational tactics came to the fore. In an affable tone, he told Nontshinga, “You’re down. You have nine minutes to change your life. Do you want to turn your life around? Do you want it. Then, go get it!”

Nontshinga gave Nathan the nod, and went on to finish strongly over the final three rounds, securing a split-decision victory. Two of the three judges scored in favour of the South African by margins of 116-111 and 114-113.

As a result, Flores suffered the first defeat of his professional career, and Nathan was hailed by boxing pundits for his corner-motivation work which resulted in him producing a boxing world champion.

“I can’t recommend this fight enough. Go back and watch it, you won’t regret it. Between the fight and Colin Nathan’s stirring corner work, it was like a movie fight in real life,” tweeted Corey Erdman, a Toronto-based boxing writer and commentator.

American boxing journalist Dan Rafael tweeted, “Dramatic stuff in Nontshinga corner from trainer Colin Nathan before round 10 of this all-out war for vacant IBF 108 title on @DAZNBoxing…”

And Sergio Mora, a former boxing champion turned commentator, tweeted, “Nontshinga’s trainer didn’t allow him to lose a split second in Mexico! He pushed his fighter across the finish line. Great corner work!”

Nathan played down what some have called his “motivational masterclass”.

“I was just doing my job. I realised how hard we had worked to get him to that point. What I meant was that sometimes, physically, you have to put your life on the line to push through being either very good or great. Unfortunately, that’s what boxing requires. Giving your very best isn’t good enough. You actually have to descend into a very dark place in boxing to reach the next level. I just thought boxing is parallel to life, and the remaining three rounds could change his life. Literally, that’s what I meant.”

Nathan was confident about Nontshinga’s chances of winning, but says, “Expectation doesn’t exist in boxing. It’s a cruel sport. The expectation is what we as a camp and South Africa wanted. Then he had to go out and achieve it.

“Our preparation helped him to win. [There were] lot of delays with regard to the dates. It actually worked to our advantage because when it was initially scheduled, about six weeks earlier, we really would have had an uphill battle. Dealing with jet lag and us getting our visas so late were issues as well.”

As a young fighter, Nontshinga aspired to be able to train with Nathan, one of the country’s most celebrated trainers who has coached the likes of Hekkie Budler, Moruti Mthalane, Simphiwe Khonco, and Deejay Kriel. Nathan added Nontshinga to this list in January. “His father, who had been training him for his whole career, called me to a meeting and asked me to take on his kid,” says Nathan.

Now Nontshinga trains six days a week at Nathan’s Hot Box Gym in Savoy Estate, Johannesburg.

Having just seen his protégé become a champion of the world, Nathan aims to help Nontshinga win more titles and become a successful human being.

“Every human being has a different personality. It’s the same with fighters,” says Nathan, comparing Nontshinga to his other fighters. “For me, it was a significant win because South Africa needed a legitimate world champion again. The world champion was with me and lost in London 18 months ago. So, I felt like I owed it to the country to produce another world champion.”

Introduced to boxing by his father, Nathan is the third generation of his family involved in the sport. Travelling extensively to support boxers in fights around the world, he says boxers in South Africa have the talent and ability needed to succeed against boxers from any country.

“It’s just about trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, so that will always be a little tricky,” says the Boxing South Africa 2017/2018 Trainer of the Year. “Please G-d, I’ll produce another world champion. Building relationships and showing respect for fighters makes a big difference with the athletes I get behind. Even if I’m not training or managing them, I’m always willing to give my time and help anyone who needs assistance.”

After all, Nathan is nicknamed “Nomakanjani” (No matter what). He was bestowed with the sobriquet in 2007 after he was asked for his prediction and replied, “This is what’s going to happen, nomakanjani, no matter what, no doubts.”

There’s no doubt about Nathan’s standing in boxing. According to the Sowetan, “Nathan has built a career that can be mentioned in the same conversation as his teacher, Freddie Roach, the legendary American widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers of all time. He’s also credited for the success of Manny Pacquiao.”