Nqothole established himself early, using sharp striking and efficient 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 on the defensive.
As the fight progressed, Nqothole continued to land the cleaner blows while avoiding prolonged exchanges. Edwards found success in spots during the middle rounds and increased his work rate, but he struggled to consistently pin his opponent.
The former WBC flyweight champion tried to turn the tide in the championship rounds through gamesmanship, repeatedly dropping his hands, sticking his chin out and trying to bait Nqothole into reckless exchanges. The tactic produced 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 probably needed something significant to turn the fight around. However, Nqothole remained calm and kept 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 under both eyes after twelve rounds of action, while Nqothole appeared relatively fresh.
Despite that, Edwards celebrated before the official scores were announced and was convinced he had done enough to win. The judges saw it differently and awarded Nqothole a clear unanimous decision and the biggest win 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 match 96-94 for Toward, another scored it 96-94 for Corrie, while the third scored it 95-95.
Ollie Cooper remained undefeated 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 bout.
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 undefeated record by stopping Faton Tolaj in the second round. Roehrig scored a takedown before forcing the referee to stop the game after a sustained attack.
Elsewhere on the card, Sultan Babakhanov defeated Marco Simmonds over six rounds, while Jonathan Kumuteo scored a four-round decision over Jose Aguirre. Eugene McKeever also remained undefeated with a four-round win over Artem Liashevych.
