Nqothole established himself early, using sharp punching and effective movement to keep Edwards from building momentum. The South African enjoyed success in the opening rounds and scored one of the fight’s biggest moments in the third when a right hand stunned Edwards and forced him onto the defensive.
As the fight progressed, Nqothole continued to land the cleaner punches while avoiding prolonged exchanges. Edwards had success in spots during the middle rounds and increased his work rate late, but he struggled to consistently pin down his opponent.
The former WBC flyweight champion attempted to change the tide in the championship rounds through gamesmanship, repeatedly lowering his hands, sticking out his chin and trying to lure Nqothole into reckless exchanges. The tactics generated little reaction from the crowd as Nqothole remained disciplined and refused to be drawn into unnecessary risks.
Edwards pushed hard over the final rounds, knowing he likely needed something significant to turn the fight around. Nqothole, however, stayed composed and continued boxing behind his jab while landing enough clean shots to maintain control.
The contrast between the two fighters at the final bell was noticeable. Edwards was marked up beneath both eyes after twelve rounds of action, while Nqothole appeared relatively fresh.
Despite that, Edwards celebrated before the official scores were announced and appeared convinced he had done enough to win. The judges saw it differently, awarding Nqothole a clear unanimous decision and the biggest victory of his career.
In the co-feature, Dan Toward and Jak Corrie fought to a split draw over ten rounds for the vacant WBA Continental super welterweight title. One judge scored the contest 96-94 for Toward, another had it 96-94 for Corrie, while the third scored it 95-95.
Ollie Cooper remained unbeaten and captured the vacant English super middleweight title with an eighth-round stoppage of James Osborne. After a competitive fight, Cooper dropped Osborne twice in the eighth before the referee stepped in to end the contest.
Tom Welland claimed the vacant Commonwealth International featherweight title with a unanimous decision over late replacement Saleh Kassim. Welland gradually broke down the durable Tanzanian challenger and won comfortably on the scorecards.
Cruiserweight prospect Lucas Roehrig improved his unbeaten record by stopping Faton Tolaj in the second round. Roehrig scored a knockdown before forcing the referee to halt the contest after a sustained attack.
Elsewhere on the card, Sultan Babakhanov defeated Marco Simmonds over six rounds, while Jonathan Kumuteo earned a four-round decision over Jose Aguirre. Eugene McKeever also remained unbeaten with a four-round victory over Artem Liashevych.
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