Sivenathi Nontshinga is ready to move on to the next phase of his career.

Two goals were achieved in one shot when he avenged his lone defeat and regained his IBF junior flyweight title. Both came in a tenth-round stoppage of Adrian Curiel their February 16 rematch on the road in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nontshinga suffered a stunning first round defeat to Mexico City’s Curiel (24-5-1, 5 knockouts three months prior, but feels the manner in which he closed the show in their sequel was enough to end their rivalry.

“Not really sure there is a need for the trilogy,” Nontshinga told The Ring. “Yes, we lost the first fight by knockout and we were losing the early rounds in this fight. But I thought the way we ended the fight was very convincing.

“Our goal is to unify the titles, become undisputed champion.”

Japan’s Kenshiro Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs) is The Ring champion and also holds the WBC and WBA titles. The WBO beltholder is Jonathan ‘Bomba’ Gonzalez (27-3-1, 14 KOs), the No. 1 ranked Ring contender who returns home for an all-Puerto Rico mandatory title defense versus Rene Santiago (12-3, 9 KOs) this Saturday in San Juan, P.R.

South Africa’s Nontshinga (13-1, 10 KOs)—No. 2 at junior flyweight by The Ring—will first have to satisfy a mandatory title defense before he can set his sights on the other divisional titles. The Ring has confirmed that the IBF will soon order a fight between the two-time titlist and Christian Araneta (24-2, 19 KOs), a 28-year-old southpaw from Cebu, Philippines.

Nontshinga foresaw this development prior to his revenge-fueled rematch versus No. 3 Ring-ranked Curiel. It was a reality the 25-year-old accepted to win back his IBF belt. He had to overcome an early scorecard deficit to rally and hurt Curiel in the ninth round before he dropped and subsequently stopped him at 0:44 of the tenth round.

For now, the hope is to get this fight on the books as early as the Matchroom Boxing schedule will allow. With a win there, the goal is to enjoy an active 2024 campaign and a path towards fully unifying the 108-pound division.

“We will anticipate the IBF mandatory obligation, which I am sure will be ordered soon,” noted Nontshinga. “In the meantime, we will take this time to enjoy this moment and see what Matchroom says for our next fight.”

Jake Donovan a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writer Association of America. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox