Winning the Premier Boxing League is just an introduction to big-time boxing, says Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni, who was crowned the inaugural PBL champion on Sunday.
The 24-year-old boxer from Mount Frere, who is trained by Mzamo “Chief” Njenkanye in Duncan Village, walked away with the staggering R1-million winner’s prize-money.
This was after outclassing Vusumzi Tyatyeka over six rounds in front of exhilarated fans at the Orient Theatre. Ndongeni also took home R200000 which was the prize for finishing on top of his lightweight division with 69 points.
The fight against Tyatyeka, from Cape Town, was the fighters’ third in the tournament. Ndongeni beat Grant Fourie and Vusumzi Bokolo to be in the final against Tyatyeka.
The tournament, fought in four weight divisions, saw the fighters earn R60000 per fight in purse-monies and an additional R200000 for topping their divisions.
And with points accumulated across all four divisions for winning convincingly and knocking opponents out, the overall top points-scorer walked away with the R1-million.
This means that Ndongeni – who is the reigning national lightweight champion – actually pocketed R1.26-million on Sunday.
“I want to thank the organisers of the PBL – Dicksy Ngqula – for this project. But my gratitude goes to ‘Chief’ for always believing in me,” said the fighter who does not have parents.
“He is not only a boxing trainer to me but also a father, friend and guardian, and without him I am nothing. I know that with this belief that he has in me, a lot is still to come. You know when the PBL started not even once did I think I will be in the final – let alone win the first prize. But Chief kept saying to me together we will do it and today I am the champion.”
Ndongeni remains undefeated after 17 bouts. He also paid tribute to his fans: “They have shown unbelievable support and without them my opponents would not have developed cold feet.”
It is through Njekanye that the boxer has matric as he also takes care of his education.
Tactically Ndongeni is not sound but he has a very good eye, sharp reflexes and is fearless. Njekanye revealed that they use a class in a school as their gym.
“We have nothing but love and dedication. Today you talk about the champion from the first round of the PBL – you are forced to mention us.
“You know nothing is so fulfilling to me as a parent to see a child succeed. I started training Nomeva in 2007 and not even once did I see a future champion in him. That is because that was not the sole idea why I trained fighters. I trained them just to keep them busy,” he said.
“But things began coming together when Ndongeni first won the SA junior-lightweight title in 2013.
“He added the WBF International title and vacated both, moved up to the lightweight division and won the SA title. That is when I realised that this boy is destined for greater heights. His successes are immeasurable to say the least.”
Meanwhile, Macbute Sinyabi (featherweight), Toto Helebe (bantamweight) and Makazole Tete (flyweight) pocketed R200000 each for finishing top in their respective weight divisions. Ngqula, who pioneered the tournament format in 2013, added: “We are definitely coming back.”
Ndongeni stings Tyatyeka
The 24-year-old boxer from Mount Frere, who is trained by Mzamo “Chief” Njenkanye in Duncan Village, walked away with the staggering R1-million winner’s prize-money.
This was after outclassing Vusumzi Tyatyeka over six rounds in front of exhilarated fans at the Orient Theatre. Ndongeni also took home R200000 which was the prize for finishing on top of his lightweight division with 69 points.
The fight against Tyatyeka, from Cape Town, was the fighters’ third in the tournament. Ndongeni beat Grant Fourie and Vusumzi Bokolo to be in the final against Tyatyeka.
The tournament, fought in four weight divisions, saw the fighters earn R60000 per fight in purse-monies and an additional R200000 for topping their divisions.
And with points accumulated across all four divisions for winning convincingly and knocking opponents out, the overall top points-scorer walked away with the R1-million.
This means that Ndongeni – who is the reigning national lightweight champion – actually pocketed R1.26-million on Sunday.
“I want to thank the organisers of the PBL – Dicksy Ngqula – for this project. But my gratitude goes to ‘Chief’ for always believing in me,” said the fighter who does not have parents.
“He is not only a boxing trainer to me but also a father, friend and guardian, and without him I am nothing. I know that with this belief that he has in me, a lot is still to come. You know when the PBL started not even once did I think I will be in the final – let alone win the first prize. But Chief kept saying to me together we will do it and today I am the champion.”
Ndongeni remains undefeated after 17 bouts. He also paid tribute to his fans: “They have shown unbelievable support and without them my opponents would not have developed cold feet.”
It is through Njekanye that the boxer has matric as he also takes care of his education.
Tactically Ndongeni is not sound but he has a very good eye, sharp reflexes and is fearless. Njekanye revealed that they use a class in a school as their gym.
“We have nothing but love and dedication. Today you talk about the champion from the first round of the PBL – you are forced to mention us.
“You know nothing is so fulfilling to me as a parent to see a child succeed. I started training Nomeva in 2007 and not even once did I see a future champion in him. That is because that was not the sole idea why I trained fighters. I trained them just to keep them busy,” he said.
“But things began coming together when Ndongeni first won the SA junior-lightweight title in 2013.
“He added the WBF International title and vacated both, moved up to the lightweight division and won the SA title. That is when I realised that this boy is destined for greater heights. His successes are immeasurable to say the least.”
Meanwhile, Macbute Sinyabi (featherweight), Toto Helebe (bantamweight) and Makazole Tete (flyweight) pocketed R200000 each for finishing top in their respective weight divisions. Ngqula, who pioneered the tournament format in 2013, added: “We are definitely coming back.”
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