Joshua Feldman Shines in Tough Fight

Junior middleweight prospect Joshua Feldman won a tough fight against a game opponent, Siphiwe Ntombela, today at Big Top Arena in Carnival City, Gauteng, South Africa. Nicknamed "The Maccabee," Feldman's fluid boxing carried the fight against an unexpectedly stout challenge from the veteran journeyman.

From the opening chime, Feldman gracefully slipped Ntombela's shots and landed pinpoint counters of his own. He savagely ripped the body with either hand and worked in quite a few left uppercuts. A southpaw, Feldman's straight lefts - both leads and counters - were picture perfect. He landed them consistently throughout the fight. His smooth right hook found the target without fail.

Feldman put on a masterclass through nearly four rounds. Contrary to past fights, Ntombela became more resilient as the fight progressed. Previously, his punch resistance had waned late in fights, but he was at his best tonight. At the end of the fourth, he rocked Feldman. The 32 year old showed his left to land a short chopping right. Feldman was wobbled on the ropes at the end of the round. Though Ntombela finished the fourth strong, it really wasn't enough to overcome an otherwise dominant round by Feldman.

Ntombela carried his newly found momentum into the fifth and gave Feldman the worst round of his pro career thus far. He added clubbing rights to his chopping rights and backed up The Maccabee. Feldman had his moments in the round, particularly to the body, but it was a clear Ntombela round.

Heading into the sixth and final round, it was conceivable that Feldman was only up three rounds to two, if Ntombela was given the fourth with his late surge. That possibility made the last round paramount. Feldman came out with lefts to the body Ntombela answered back with a right to the body of his own. But Feldman's counters won the round. He even wobbled his rugged opponent with a straight left late in the fight.

The judges had the contest 59-55, 58-56, and 58-57 for Feldman, The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the bout 59-55 for Josh.

Though he punished Ntombela, who had been stopped eight times, the lack of a clean knockdown shouldn't be viewed as an indictment of Feldman's power. Josh could have added more combinations to his attack but at the risk of getting caught by Ntombela's short right. Ntombela fought the best fight of his career and deserves a lot of credit for his performance. He came to fight and was willing to go through the fire to try and win.

As for Feldman, he showed a load of skill, creativity, and grit in this fight. He believed he would be better as the competition improved, and he has shown that to be the case in his last two fights. He is now 7-0 with 3 KOs. Ntombela's record is a hard-fought 4-12 with 3 KOs