Juan Alberts is the latest Vikings Boxing Club member who turned professional.
As a proud local, Juan hopes to impress in the ring and fly the Krugersdorp flag high whenever he wears his boxing gloves. At just 23 years of age, Juan has made big strides in the sport and expressed how much boxing has helped him to become a better athlete and person.
“I love how the sport teaches me discipline. Both my father and brother were boxers too, so I want to make them proud and show them I can throw a knockout punch.”
Juan has many boxing idols whom he looks up to and besides his father, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury (all World Boxing Champs [WBC] champs in the heavyweight division) played a big role in inspiring and motivating him to train hard and be the best version of himself.
“I learnt from George that no matter where you come from, or who you are, you can become the best. Mike taught me that no matter if you are shorter or smaller, skill and strength, count. From Tyson Fury I learnt no matter how you look, hard work beats talent. And at the end of the day, you show appreciation to the all-mighty God because you can stand up and train and do what you love.”
One of Juan’s biggest accomplishments in his boxing career was becoming a Gauteng Boxing Champion in 2023. Going professional means bigger and better opponents but Juan is confident he will stand his ground and hopefully become a contender to win a WBC title.
“I want to fight big names in the sport and build my legacy,” Juan said.
According to their official website, the WBC is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing. Click here to read more about it.
Other famous male WBC champions include Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes and Lennox Lewis (all heavyweights) as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr (welterweight and lightweight), Evander Holyfield (cruiserweight and heavyweight), Bob Foster (light-heavyweight), Sugar Ray Leonard (super middleweight), Canelo Álvarez (super middleweight) and Marvin Hagler (middleweight) and more.
