The lone remaining junior flyweight titlist without a scheduled fight now has his marching orders.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the IBF has ordered a Sivenathi Nontshinga-Regie Suganob mandatory junior flyweight title fight. The two sides are granted a free negotiation period before the matter is presented to a purse bid hearing.
South Africa’s Nontshinga is the reigning titlist and represented by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. Suganob enters his first career title fight as the mandatory challenger and is promoted by Floriezly Podot’s PMI Bohol Boxing. Promotions.
“Negotiations should commence immediately and be concluded by March 28, 2023,” IBF Championship chairman Carlos Ortiz told both parties on Tuesday via official letter, a copy of which was obtained by BoxingScene.com. “If you are unable to come to an agreement for this bout within the [28] days, the IBF will call for a purse bid.”
The ordered fight comes as a three-belt unification bout is already in play. Lineal/WBC/WBA junior flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji (20-1, 12KOs) will face WBO titleholder Jonathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez (27-3-1, 14KOs) on April 8 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
By that point, the IBF title fight should at least have an established date and promotional representation.
Nontshinga (11-0, 9KOs) claimed the IBF title via well-earned split decision victory over Tijuana’s Hector Flores (20-0-4 at the time) in their savagely-fought vacant title clash last September 3 on the road in Hermosillo, Mexico. The Fight of the Year contender marked the first career fight outside of South Africa for the 24-year-old Nontshinga, who had a brief window of opportunity to enter a voluntary defense while the IBF sought to establish his next mandatory challenger.
That option is no longer on the table with the ordered title fight.
Suganob (13-0, 4KOs) filled the mandatory void over the weekend.
The 25-year-old from Bohol, Philippines prevailed via technical decision over Mark Vicelles in their February 25 IBF final eliminator between unbeaten Filipino contenders at Calape (Philippines) Cultural Center. The fight was stopped at 1:39 of round eight when a cut over the right eyebrow of Vicelles (17-1-1, 10KOs)—caused by a headbutt two rounds prior—was deemed unfit to continue by the ringside doctor.
Ringside judges Gil Co (80-71), Adam Height (78-73) and Greg Ortega (77-74) all scored the contest in favor of Sugnaob, who picked up his fourth win in just 50 weeks. It marks his third over a previously unbeaten fighter within his last five fights, and came less than six months after he pitched a ten-round shutout over Indonesia’s Andika D’Golden Boy (19-0-1 at the time) last September 9 in Dimaio, Bohol.
Interestingly, Suganob advanced as the highest available contender to face Vicelles in the title eliminator after Flores passed on the opportunity.
Nontshinga is entitled the greater share of a 65-35 split as the defending titleholder should the fight go to purse bid.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox