Adrian Curiel takes on Sivenathi Nontshinga aiming to settle their score in Mexico
Repeat or revenge.
That will be the theme Friday night as Adrian Curiel will attempt to prove his first fight against Sivenathi Nontshinga was not a fluke.
Curiel will defend his IBF world junior flyweight title against Nontshinga at the Auditorio Guelaguetza in Oaxaca, Mexico. The 12-round bout will headline a Matchroom Boxing card that will stream live on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
The clash between the two is a compelling one, as both are in the top 10. Curiel and Nontshinga are rated at No. 2 and 5, respectively, by The Ring at junior flyweight.
Entering the November 4 bout as an +800 underdog, Curiel pulled off the major upset, scoring a devastating one-punch knockout win of Nontshinga in the second round. The win on November 4 was Curiel’s first attempt at a world title belt.
Curiel (24-4-1, 5 knockouts), who resides in Mexico City, is not overlooking Nontshinga and prepared for the fight with the mentality of a challenger.
“It’s great to be here and a huge opportunity to defend my title,” said Curiel at Wednesday’s press conference. “We have trained as champions, but we will go into the fight with a challenger mentality. It’s great to defend my belt on home soil. It was not a lucky shot or KO.
“I’ve been watching interviews that (Nontshinga has) been giving, and he says that I’m not a big puncher and I’m an easy fighter, but he’ll see on Friday that as we say here, people need to back up what they say. So, we’ll see on Friday if that’s true.”
In his previous fight on August 4, Curiel stopped Ivan Garcia Carrillo in the second round. Curiel has turned his career around and is now unbeaten in his last nine bouts. Between 2019 and 2021, Curiel was 1-2, with defeats to Joselito Velazquez and Cristian Gonzalez.
Nontshinga (12-1, 9 KOs) won the vacant IBF world title in Mexico in September 2022, defeating Hector Flores by split-decision. He would make a voluntary defense in East London, South Africa, not far from his home in Reeston, dropping Regie Suganob once en route to a unanimous decision victory on July 2.
Despite suffering the first defeat as a pro, Nontshinga is confident he will exact his revenge and come out victorious and reclaim his world title belt.
“My title looks good on him,” said Nontshinga. “It feels great to be here (in Oaxaca), it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been working so hard, and I will grab this opportunity with both hands. There will be a great atmosphere. I’ve met so many kind people here and I am looking forward to Friday night.
“I’ve trained so hard, it’s not the first time I’ve prepared for a world title fight. I’ve been a champion before, and I promise everybody that, once again, I will prevail. I believe falling down is part of life, but getting back up is living, so once again, I will become a champion.”
Both Curiel and Nontshinga are 25 years old.
In the co-feature, former WBA world featherweight titleholder Mauricio Lara (26-3-1, 19 KOs), also of Mexico City, will face Daniel Lugo (27-2, 18 KOs) of Hermosillo, Mexico in a 10-round junior lightweight bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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