Xolisani “Nomeva” Ndongeni’s next tough fight might be a protracted legal battle to free himself from a management contract he signed with US manager Luis Tapia.
Ndongeni returned to the country from the US where he suffered his first professional loss to top prospect Devin Haney in a fight for the WBO Intercontinental and WBC International lightweight titles last Friday, televised on ShoBox (Showtime Boxing).
Despite losing the fight, Ndongeni received rave reviews for his bold stand against the unbeaten US star, who is tipped to emulate the great Floyd Mayweather.
The KwaBhaca-born, Duncan Village-bred boxer, who sacrificed plenty including missing his grandfather Zolendlini Ndongeni’s funeral in KwaBhaca (formerly Mount Frere) last month, to prepare for the fight, reportedly impressed Showtime executives with his gallant performance against Haney.
Having fought in the US in 2016, when he beat Mexican Juan Garcia Mendez in another fight that was shown on ShoBox, promises are streaming in that he will be invited back to the US within 120 days.
But he wants to first sort out the contract he signed with Tapia in 2017. This was when he was sent to the US to train at the Mayweather boxing club, where Tapia trains his fighters.
Ndongeni confirmed that on arriving in the US for the Haney fight, Tapia wanted to enforce the contract so that he would get a percentage from his purse.
“He tried to do that but I think he then realised what he was about to do was not fair,” Ndongeni said.
“Luis never gave me a fight, so I am sure that makes the contract invalid but I will have to attend to that so that if I get another chance to fight in the US, I am not distracted.”
East London lawyer Ntsikelelo Manyisana confirmed that Ndongeni had indeed signed the contract with Tapia.
“I have a copy of the contract because they signed it with me,” he said.
Ndongeni refused to divulge the purse he was fighting for against Haney, insisting that the fight was not about money...