Sivenathi Nontshinga rallied from his first pro loss by ralling from defeat in hid rematch with Adrian Curiel.

Nontshinga overcame a strong start by Curiel, dropping him once en route to a come-from-behind knockout victory in Round 10 on Friday at the Auditorio Guelaguetza in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nontshinga, who resides in Reeston, South Africa, improved to 13-1, 9 knockouts and reclaimed the IBF junior flyweight title.

The clash between Curiel and Nontshinga was a battle between top-10 junior flyweights. Entering Friday’s fight, Curiel and Nontshinga were rated No. 2 and 5, respectively, by The Ring.

From the opening bell, the shorter Curiel was the more effective and busier fighter, outboxing Nontshinga, who chose to exchange on the inside with little success. Curiel found success landing uppercuts as the two were in the pocket.

Undaunted, Nontshinga continued to fight on the inside. As the fight continued into the middle rounds, Curiel would walk Nontshinga back against the ropes, but Nontshinga did well in connecting his share of punches. Nonshinga lowered his center of gravity, not allowing Curiel to land flush to the head.

Incredible display of power and precision by Nontshinga!! 💥⚡️#CurielNontshinga | Live on https://t.co/FoiaUucI53 pic.twitter.com/A6wb8h5Omn

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 17, 2024

Early in Round 7, referee Mark Calo-oy deducted a point from Nontshinga for leading with his head, although no warning was given earlier in the fight for previous instances of that foul. Despite the infraction, Nontshinga continued to fight in close.

About a minute into Round 8, Nontshinga found paydirt from distance, stunning Curiel with a combination to the head of Curiel. Nontshinga followed up, connecting more, especially to Curiel’s body. Curiel’s punch output began to drop. Sensing Curiel was tiring, Nontshinga dug more left and right hands to the body, following up with hooks to the head.

Moments into Round 10, a combination almost dropped Curiel to the canvas. Curiel attempted to fight back, but Nontshinga battered Curiel with combinations. Later in the round, a right hand hurt Curiel, prompting Nontshinga to follow up with a barrage of punches, prompting referee Mark Calo-oy to administer a standing eight-round. After the action resumed, another barrage of punches forced Calo-oy to stop the fight at 44 seconds.

Incredible display of power and precision by Nontshinga!! 💥⚡️#CurielNontshinga | Live on https://t.co/FoiaUucI53 pic.twitter.com/A6wb8h5Omn

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 17, 2024

The victory took place over three months after Curiel, a +800 underdog, scored a shocking one-punch knockout win over Nontshinga.

“When I lost the title, I cried, but I got the rematch,” said Nontshinga, who is promoted by Eddie Hearn and trained by Colin Nathan. “I was working really hard in the gym for this moment. He’s a good boxer, but I’ve faced better opponents than him.”

Nontshinga won the vacant IBF title in September 2022, defeating Hector Flores by thrilling split-decision. He made a defense of the IBF title on July 2, defeating Regie Suganob by unanimous decision.

Curiel, who resides in Mexico City, falls to 24-5-1, 5 KOs.

In the co-feature, former WBA featherweight titleholder Mauricio Lara fought to a majority decision draw against Daniel Lugo. One judge scored the bout 96-95 for Lugo, while the other two judges scored the bout 95-95.

Friday was Lara’s debut at 130 pounds, but it did not go as planned. Lara was effective early on, but Lugo began connecting to the head and body as the fight progressed. Lugo outboxed Lara during the middle rounds, outhustling Lara during several exchanges.

Both fighters stunned each other in round six, but Lugo continued to connect, likely winning rounds seven and eight. Sensing he was down on the scorecards, Lara came on during the last two rounds, connecting more to the head and body.

Lara and Lugo trade blows in AN ELECTRIFYING SHOWDOWN ⚡

Tune in now, live on https://t.co/FoiaUucI53 #CurielNontshinga2 pic.twitter.com/p6EfsT87p1

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 17, 2024

Lara (26-3-2, 19 KOs), who resides in Mexico City, had not fought since losing the WBA featherweight title to Leigh Wood on May 27.

Lugo, who resides in Hermosillo, Mexico, falls to 27-2-1, 18 KOs, snapping a three-fight winning streak.

In junior featherweight action, Arturo Cardenas of Sahuayo de Morelos, Mexico defeated Ernesto Garcia Flores (11-4, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 98-91, 98-91, and 100-88 for Cardenas, who improved to 13-0-1, 8 KOs.

Garcia was game early on, fighting with his front foot forward and finding success on the inside, even hurting Cardenas momentarily in the third round. Cardenas’ more accurate punches and attack to the body weakened Garcia, who was dropped late in round seven by a combination to the head.

Cardenas, who is trained by Robert Garcia, continued battering Garcia, but was content to outbox Garcia during the final round to secure the victory.

In the opening round that streamed live on DAZN, featherweight Sergio Chirino (22-1, 13 KOs of nearby Santa Lucia del Camino dropped Dennis Contreras twice en route to a second round knockout victory.

Near the end of round one, a right hand dropped Contreras to the canvas. Contreras was able to beat the count and make it out of the round but continued to take punishment into round two. Midway through the round, a left hook to the body dropped Contreras to the canvas. Contreras’ corner threw in the towel, prompting referee Emigdo Nicholas to stop the fight at 1:44.

Contrera, who resides in Guadalajara, Mexico, has lost his last four fights, dropping to 24-14-1, 22 KOs.

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 [email protected]

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