BoxRec

Charlie Edwards, Sikho Nqothole will meet in title eliminator May 29

Charlie Edwards will face Sikho Nqothole on May 29, with the winner of the IBF junior bantamweight eliminator becoming the mandatory challenger for the winner of Willibaldo Garcia vs. Andrew Moloney that takes place eight days later.

The bout will take place at York Hall in London on DAZN.

Edwards (21-2, 7 KOs), a 33-year-old former flyweight titlist, lost to Andrew Cain (SD 12) in March 2025 in an ugly fight and relocated to junior bantamweight where he returned with a win.

Nqothole (21-3, 13 KOs) is on a three-fight win streak.

I honestly wouldn’t watch this for free, he just runs away his style is unwatchable

Charlie Edwards headlines MF Pro show against Sikho Nqothole in IBF super-flyweight eliminator

Charlie Edwards is one win away from getting to fight for his second world title

Former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards (21-2, 7 KOs) will take on South African Sikho Nqothole (21-3, 13 KOs) in an IBF World super-flyweight title eliminator.

MF Pro announced that Edwards-Nqothole will headline the York Hall event on May 29 in London, live on DAZN.

The winner of IBF #5 Edwards and IBF #6 Nqothole will go on to challenge the IBF super-flyweight titleholder Willibaldo Garcia.

Jesse Rodriguez holds all the other belts – WBC, WBA, WBO, so a shot at becoming undisputed is just two fights away.

Charlie’s younger brother lost to Jesse Rodriguez, so there is family pride at stake for the Edwards in that fight. But first, he has to get through a tough South African who has held WBO Global and IBO All-Africa super-flyweight belts during his nine-year career.

Another South African, Ricardo Malajika, holds the prestigious IBO title at super-flyweight.

Also in action are prospects Dan Toward, James Osborne, Ollie Cooper, Tom Welland and Lucas Roehrig.

Fight Week!!

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑09 May 2026, 10:48 I honestly wouldn’t watch this for free, he just runs away his style is unwatchable

He was really really pathetic vs Cain.

TheLeprechaun wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 20:51

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑09 May 2026, 10:48 I honestly wouldn’t watch this for free, he just runs away his style is unwatchable

He was really really pathetic vs Cain.

He’s a really skilled boxer nothing against the fella it’s just one style I can’t watch. I love defensive and elusive this one’s just too unwatchable for me.

I don't rate him at all. He is flat out running in there. There is a difference between running and outboxing someone. You could probably train a lot of guys to run excessively like that. It's just crazy that some judges reward it.

Weigh in

I hope I’m wrong but I think this will be a Forrest Gump session

Just look at the Cain highlights.

How on earth can a judge score this fight for the guy who is running a marathon all night?

Marathon runner is landing a right hand in your picture . you can’t chase and not land much either tbh but I think at his more “normal” weight Edwards will be more effective Fighting big strong Bantamweights was a big ask in my opinion.

The yelping Edwards does when he throws is worse than his style

Sikho Nqothole, ‘forced’ to be a boxer, has ‘no choice’ but to beat Charlie Edwards

South African contender Sikho Nqothole understands the importance of Friday’s bout against Charlie Edwards in London.

Nqothole is 21-3 (13 KOs) and has won his last three since a controversial decision loss in Mexico to Rene Calixto.

Now 31, super-flyweight Nqothole said: “I definitely have to win this fight. I don’t have a choice, for my country, for myself, for my family and my team.”

Nqothole is a father of two and it was through family ties that he started boxing in the first instance.

“My cousin’s brother is the one who taught me to box,” he recalled. “I was not a boxer. I was playing golf. But my cousin’s brother took me to boxing and I did not like it. But he forced me to be a boxer and we started travelling and then after that I started liking it, because of the travel.”

His coach thought he had some talent and so he kept an eye on him, too.

“And I put in the craft, and I said, ‘Okay, I’m good at this'.”

Nqothole has been to England before, fighting as an amateur, and he looked up to local boxers who have since retired and also plenty of stars from further afield.

“I like Jorge Linares, Floyd Mayweather, Andre Ward, Tank [Davis], Shakur [Stevenson],” he said. “I like the skilled guys so much. I also like [Terence] Crawford. His boxing has got way better. When he was up and coming, he was strong and could punch but he is good on the defence and with sneaky counters. He can box, he can fight, he can adjust. He can do all these things.”

Nqothole will be hoping for a fair shake from the judges at York Hall’s Bethnal Green, something he has not had in two of his three losses.

He disputes the loss in Swaziland to Sabelo Ngebinyana and the one in Mexico to Rene Calixto.

“The first defeat, I believe I did not lose the fight,” he said. “And then, the second defeat okay I believe I lost [stopped by the same opponent] and also the third fight, you can go and watch it, I do not believe I lost the fight. It’s because maybe they wanted my rankings or whatever they planned. I believe I won the fight – even my opponent did say he lost the fight.”

The first two defeats came in 2018 and 2019. Nqothole’s 11-1 since, and being looked after by influential South African trainer-manager Colin Nathan.

Nqothole has also done a little homework on his opponent, former WBC flyweight champion Edwards.

“I haven’t watched much but I watched what I had to see,” Nqothole said.

“There’s nothing special. There’s nothing big. It’s the same for everyone. I just think about what I should do to him, and what I should not do.”

The African might be able to get to Charlie here and there but considering how judges rewarded Charlie for a completely negative and disgusting performance vs Cain, you can't hold out any hope for fair cards. The African has absolutely no chance of any fair officiating. UK reffing and judging is gone far beyond anything Germany used to look like during the Ottke era.

Seen Nqothole headline on DAZN a couple of years ago, he lost the 1st then stopped the fella in the 2nd

handsofstone wrote: ↑28 May 2026, 14:11 Seen Nqothole headline on DAZN a couple of years ago, he lost the 1st then stopped the fella in the 2nd

What type of boxer is he?

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑28 May 2026, 14:52

handsofstone wrote: ↑28 May 2026, 14:11 Seen Nqothole headline on DAZN a couple of years ago, he lost the 1st then stopped the fella in the 2nd

What type of boxer is he?

Looked pretty aggressive from the little I seen

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑25 May 2026, 00:54

TheLeprechaun wrote: ↑24 May 2026, 20:51

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑09 May 2026, 10:48 I honestly wouldn’t watch this for free, he just runs away his style is unwatchable

He was really really pathetic vs Cain.

He’s a really skilled boxer nothing against the fella it’s just one style I can’t watch. I love defensive and elusive this one’s just too unwatchable for me.

Agree he's a brutal watch. Can't remember a fight he's been in that I've enjoyed apart from him getting iced by Martinez. Crazy decision to have him headline. His style is unwatchable for me.

Me too he’s a good boxer just not for me

handsofstone wrote: ↑28 May 2026, 16:11

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑28 May 2026, 14:52

handsofstone wrote: ↑28 May 2026, 14:11 Seen Nqothole headline on DAZN a couple of years ago, he lost the 1st then stopped the fella in the 2nd

What type of boxer is he?

Looked pretty aggressive from the little I seen

Cheers Hands

Tonight!

^^ see what I did there

Date: May 29, 2026
Location: York Hall - London, UK
TV/Stream: DAZN

Start Time
Main Card: 7 pm BST | 2 pm ET | 11 am PT
Preliminary Card: 5:45 BST | 12:45 pm ET | 9:45 am PT

Main Card

12 Round IBF Super-Flyweight Title Eliminator Contest
Charlie Edwards (21-2, 7 KOs) vs. Sikho Nqothole (21-3, 13 KOs)

Vacant WBA Continental Super-Welterweight Championship
Dan Toward (8-1, 6 KOs) vs. Jak Corrie (9-0, 6 KOs)

Vacant English Super-Middleweight Championship
James Osborne (13-1, 3 KOs) vs. Ollie Cooper (12-0, 2 KOs)

Vacant Commonwealth Youth Featherweight Championship
Tom Welland (10-1, 5 KOs) vs. Jack Dillingham (7-0-1, 2 KOs)

Preliminary Card

8 Round Cruiserweight Contest
Lucas Roehrig (8-0, 4 KOs) vs. Faton Tolaj (7-2, 5 KOs)

6 Round Middleweight Contest
Sultan Babakhanov (3-0, 3 KOs) vs. Marco Simmonds (3-3)

4 Round Middleweight Contest
Jonathan Kumuteo (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Jose Aguirre (2-25, 1 KO)

4 Round Welterweight Contest
Eugene McKeever (2-0, 1 KOs) vs. TBA

_____
Prelims