RYNO Liebenberg will be in line of fire when he heads the main card on August 9.
Liebenberg will defend his WBC Silver light-heavyweight title against Russian Denis Grachev on ‘Silver Salvo’ boxing tournament, which will take place on Saturday August 9 at Emperors Palace.
In a dramatic twist, Golden Gloves has reluctantly shelved the Super Six “Clash for Cash”, where the winner could have walked away with a total prize money of R1.5.
Two of the main contestants have been withdrawn due to various reasons. Johnny Muller recently suffered a defeat in Monte Carlo as he picked up a nasty cut above his eye. Tommy Oosthuizen, the top seed, is in no position to enter the ring for a tournament of such magnitude as his fitness is in question.
Golden Gloves will go ahead with an entirely new event, “Silver Salvo.” Unbeaten Ryno Liebenberg (15-0, 11 KO’s) will come up against another contestant of the initial Clash for Cash tournament. The dangerous Russian Denis Grachev (13-3-1, 8 KO’s) will be fired up to capture the WBC Silver light-heavyweight title. They were due to fight in the first round of the Super Six, but will now face each other eye to eye in the new tournament.
While loath to discuss the Oosthuizen situation, Rodney Berman said only that he was uncomfortable going ahead with Oosthuizen not “obviously 100 per cent committed”.
According to Liebenberg, “I don’t care who I fight in the ring, I just want to do my job and get along with it.” Both are good boxers and Liebenberg will not just give away his title he has fought so hard for. Grachev has been ranked with top names, former world champions Lucian Bute and Zsolt Erdei among them, and will be desperate to win, given that he most recently lost a points decision against Isaac Chilemba, who fought from out of South Africa.
He has since joined former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd’s fight camp, and reports indicate that he looks sharper than ever.
Back at Golden Gloves promotions is the unbeaten cruiserweight Kevin Lerena from the South, who is the holder of the IBO youth title. He will be in action on fight night, while IBO super-bantamweight champion Thabo Sonjica’s will make his first title defence.
The 22-year-old Lerena will be pitched into a youth heavyweight title. His opponent, who must be 25 and under to qualify, will be announced later.
Sonic, who has fought almost exclusively in the Eastern Cape, will be showcased in his first defence against tricky Roli “Zuma” Gasca of the Philippines.
Gasca (25) is a former world title challenger with 22 wins in 27 fights and has never been stopped. Last year he drew with former WBA champion Akifumi Shimoda and is on a three-fight winning streak since then.
Johnny Muller will also defend his SA title.
