Sivenathi Nontshinga rode an early knockdown and a late momentum shift all the way to the finish line to come up huge on the road in a Fight of the Year contender.

A terrific twelve-round shootout saw South Africa’s Nontshinga outlast Hector Flores in claiming a split decision and the vacant IBF junior flyweight title as part of a DAZN quadrupleheader. Judge Fabricio Lopez (115-112) awarded the non-stop action in favor of Flores, overruled by judges Pasquale Procipio (116-111) and Deon Dwarte (114-113) in favor of Nontshinga in their sensational slugfest Saturday evening at Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico.

By his team’s own admission, Nontshinga was prepared to box and move his way to victory if it meant crowning South Africa’s only current titleholder. That mentality changed in a hurry in round two, when the unbeaten 23-year-old crashed an overhand right behind Flores’ tight guard to send him to the canvas.

Tijuana’s Flores was boxing well to that point, controlling the opening round with his power shots and not allowing Nontshinga to get off his punches. The knockdown changed the dynamic of the fight, though not Flores’ mentality as he rose from the canvas and immediately went toe-to-toe with his fellow unbeaten foe.

Nontshinga—fighting outside of South Africa for the first time—was unable to find lightning in a bottle in round three, with Flores fully recovered from any brief damage suffered in the preceding round. Flores fought at an aggressive pace, forcing Nontshinga to expend more energy than necessary at a rapid pace.

Flores carried over that momentum in a monster fourth round. Nontshinga looked to box but was quickly put on the defensive after being rocked by a right hand one minute into the round. Flores didn’t relent, throwing nonstop punches for the duration of the frame.

Nontshinga regained his bearings in a furiously paced round five, rediscovering a home for his right hand. Flores had an answer for every shot but was dealt another dose of adversity after a clash of heads left him with a cut along his forehead. The blood flowed and so did the punches, as several two-way exchanges had the passionate crowd on its feet.

There was more reason to cheer in round six, which saw both fighters hurt. Flores showed signs of threatening to slow down as Nontshinga was suddenly first to the punch. That dramatically changed midway through the round, as Flores chopped away at Nontshinga’s body and came back upstairs with right hands while avoiding his opponent’s attempts to clinch.

Flores understandably slowed down in the seventh after putting forth a relentless workrate in the preceding round. Nontshinga was wise to preserve his energy rather than panic and jump on the unbeaten Mexican, looking to play the long game in a fight whose outcome was very much on the table.

Nontshinga stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Flores for much of round eight, controlling the action though dangerously remaining within Flores’ punching range. Both fighters were a little wider with their punches, Flores briefly abandoning his body attack as he looked to land looping right hands upstairs. Nontshinga cracked Flores with an uppercut and later with a right hand in a much needed bounceback round.

World class trainer Colin Nathan urged Nontshinga to fight at his desired pace and style, insisting that Flores was running on fumes. The action that came in round nine supported the claim in part, though Flores fought through the fatigue to initiate a slugfest. Nontshinga remained in the pocket, always in position to respond but unable to fend off his determined foe.

Another passionate speech awaited Nontshinga in between rounds, as Nathan claimed that his charge was down with just nine minutes to go. Nontshinga seemed to immediately respond, finding just enough distance to push out a jab and a straight right hand behind it. Flores came back to land a combination upstairs midway through the round. Chants of ‘Mexico’ motivated Flores to let his hands go, though at the expense of getting countered as blood streamed down the center of his face.

Nontshinga came out aggressive in the eleventh, twice landing right hands behind Flores’ high guard. Flores was able to catch a brief breather at the midway point, as time was called to adjust loose tape on his left glove. Nontshinga landed a clean right hand across Flores’ chin in the final minute, continuing to make up for lost time after falling behind earlier in the contest.

As was to be expected, both fighters stood toe-to-toe—or forehead-to-forehead—in the twelfth and final round. The two way action saw brief separation when Flores rocked Nontshinga with a right uppercut and left hook just past the midway point. The final 20 seconds of the round saw Nontshinga initiate one final exchange, his trunks soaked in Flores’ blood as both fighters offered a last ditch effort to steal the round and the decision.

Nontshinga goes the twelve-round distance for the second straight time, this time heading home as South Africa’s lone reigning titleholder. The 23-year-old improves to 11-0 (9KOs) with the win. Flores falls to 20-1-4 (10KOs) with the bitter defeat, though he won’t be short of opportunities based on his terrific performance in his first title fight.

Headlining the show, lineal junior bantamweight champion and local hero Juan Francisco Estrada (42-3, 28KOs) faces countryman Argi Cortes (23-2-2, 10KOs) in a scheduled twelve-round contest.