Landile Ngxeke’s former trainer, Manyamezeli Shosha, has backed him, with caution, to prevail when he fights for the vacant IBF bantamweight title in Mexico next Saturday. Sada-born Ngxeke, who was guided by Shosha in Mdantsane during his rise in the world ratings, culminating in the title fight, will face Mexican Jose Salas Reyes in Mexico City in the biggest fight of his life. He had previously fought seven bouts under Shosha’s tutelage, winning all since he suffered his lone loss when he was knocked out by Filipino Jayr Raquinel in 2022.
Shosha was able to whip him back to winning ways as he climbed up the ratings to a title shot. “Landile is focused, and he is in the zone and ready for the fight.” The bond they formed together gives Shosha intimate knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses, which could either realise or derail his world title aspirations. Shosha said he knew Ngxeke had strong mental fortitude to succeed in any environment, including facing the raucous Mexican crowd.
“I know Ngxeke because I worked with him for a number of fights and we built a winning team together,” he said. However, Shosha insisted that Ngxeke’s victory over Reyes would depend on the strategy designed by his current handlers. “I do not know what they are working on because I am not part of their camp, so I think it will depend on what they come up with in order to succeed,” he said. Nathan said Ngxeke was looking good in camp, displaying a high work ethic in his quest to return the IBF belt to SA.
Read Full Article on Daily Dispatch
