Unbeaten Regie Suganob will challenge Sivenathi Nontshinga for the IBF junior flyweight two weeks later than originally billed at the ICC, East London, South Africa, on Sunday.

Suganob, The Ring’s No. 9 ranked junior flyweight, is glad to finally have his world title opportunity.

“We been asking [for] this fight since before we were given the opportunity to fight for the eliminator [against Mark Vicelles],” Suganob (13-0, 4 knockouts) told The Ring.

“He is the current champion, so maybe he is good but not totally the best in the division. He always runs, that’s what he does well. If he wants an exciting fight, he must engage and let’s see who has the power.”

Suganob’s manager Floriezyl Podot, was also quick to goad the defending champion.

“We are a little bit disappointed with the postponement from the original date (June 16) to July 2,” said Podot. “Regie is ready since he won the eliminator bout.

“It will be a more exciting fight if the champion would engage a little more than what he does – running. But we are prepared if Nontshinga is going to use the same style of running. Regie will wear him out. We hope to finally settle this on July 2.”

The 25-year-old Bohol resident and his team are keeping their other finding close to their chest.

“Our team [has] reviewed his fights and we studied his style, including his good and bad habits,” he said careful not to reveal too much. “We saw two areas in his style that we can exploit. I cannot tell you what are those but we are prepared to execute our game plan in those two areas that we saw in his fighting style.”

In his last fight, Suganob scored a career best win over Vicelles (TD 8) and is feel has grown as a fighter because of the extra confidence gained from that triumph.

“Mark Vicelles is rated in four major sanctioning bodies and is one of the best not only in the Philippines but also in the Asia Pacific in the junior flyweight division,” he stated. “The opportunity to fight Mark Vicelles in a title eliminator is a great experience especially for this fight because Vicelles is a stablemate of Christian Araneta who knocked down Nontshinga.”

Suganob’s team had hoped to secure home advantage but ultimately yielded and packed their bags. He acknowledges that isn’t ideal but it’s what he has to do.

“Traveling of course will discomfort us a little,” he said. “But we will be flying out to South Africa 7 days before the fight. That would give us time to familiarize with the place and acclimatize the weather. My comfort zone is the boxing ring, he will have no advantage against me inside the boxing ring.”

The Filipino had other opportunities but his goal has always been to succeed in boxing. If he can do so, he’ll add his name to his countries rich boxing history that goes back 100 years.

“It would be dream come true,” he said. “I started boxing at the age of 7 and it is always been my dream to be a champion in boxing and be like Manny Pacquiao someday. I finished college and could have the opportunity be working as a seaman, but I love boxing so much so I decided to become a professional boxing.”

Nontshinga (11-0, 9 KOs), The Ring’s No. 4 rated junior flyweight, won the South African national title in his fifth fight.

The 24-year-old has beaten compatriot Siyabonga Siyo (TKO 9), Ivan Soriano (KO 5), he held on after getting knocked down in the final round against Christian Araneta (UD 12) in an IBF eliminator. He edged out Hector Flores (SD 12) to claim the vacant IBF title in Mexico last September.

This is an intriguing matchup on paper, between two unbeaten fighters. It is interesting that Suganob and his team seem to want Nontshinga to be more aggressive. He fought at a high pace and traded with Flores when he won that fight. You wonder if home advantage may be key for Nontshinga.

ALSO ON RINGTV:

Sivenathi Nontshinga risks his IBF title against Regie Suganob on June 16 – The Ring (ringtv.com)

Sivenathi Nontshinga gets tough challenger Regie Suganob for first title defense – The Ring (ringtv.com)

NEW FACES – REGIE SUGANOB – The Ring (ringtv.com)

Sivenathi Nontshinga and trainer Colin Nathan go viral with inspirational speech – The Ring (ringtv.com)

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