Sikho “Sequence” Nqothole intends to hang up his boxing gloves at 35 when his faculties are still intact.
Now 32, he wants to quit after he has won a world title.
Nqothole has held the IBO All Africa and WBO global junior bantamweight belts, which gave him recognition internationally.
The champ from Mthatha, Eastern Cape, is on the verge of fighting for the IBF world belt.
Rated No 8 by that New York boxing body, Nqothole must beat the No 9 contender, Charlie Edwards from England, in their upcoming elimination fight.
That is the order from the IBF, which has given the two boxers’ camps until March 17 to reach an agreement.
Nqothole is managed by Colin Nathan’s No Doubt Management and promoted by Larry Wainstein’s Boxing 5.
I believe my management will do its part; mine is to train and be ready to fight.
— Sikho “Sequence” Nqothole
“I believe my management will do its part; mine is to train and be ready to fight,” Nqothole said yesterday.
In preparing for his future after boxing, Nqothole has already bought land in Mthatha.
“I intend to build something that will sustain me and my family,” he said. “I have a two-year-old son, and I plan to get married.”
Nqothole said all these “things” push him to work harder, focus and spend wisely.
He missed out on the 2016 Rio Olympics despite having qualified for the global sporting showpiece when he won a gold medal in the 2016 African Boxing Olympic qualification tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
But the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic committee did not recognise the qualification at that time and ordered him to compete at the IBA world qualifiers in Baku, Azerbaijan, in June 2016.
But he was unsuccessful in qualifying for the Olympics there and turned professional in 2017.
Nqothole has 21 wins, 13 by knockouts, against three losses.
