‘Razor’ Knapp aims to keep his sharp edge against Frenchman

All-action junior middleweight Roarke “Razor” Knapp has been keeping boxing fans on the edge of their seats of late every time he steps between the ropes.

It therefore came as no surprise when his promotional team deservedly elevated him to headline status at tournaments last year.

The exciting 24-year-old Knapp (15-1-1) will again enjoy top billing in Golden Gloves’ five-fight “Peril at the Palace” Box and Dine offering at the popular Emperors Palace boxing mecca east of Johannesburg on Saturday.

In another big step-up in his career, he faces the vastly experienced 32-year-old Frenchman Ahmed El Mousaoui (34-4-1) in a scheduled 10-round international junior middleweight contest.

Knapp, an entertaining boxer-fighter, who holds multiple continental and inter-continental titles, avenged a knockout defeat to Brandon Thysse in 2019 and showed a new-found maturity to gain a reversal via split decision in June last year before turning in a polished display to out-point the tough Mexican Dante Jardon in December.

El Mousaoui’s skills and experience

The rugged Frenchman El Mousaoui only boasts eight knockouts on his 39-fight resume, which suggests he’s not a massive puncher but came off a 10-fight winning streak before dropping a split decision to countryman David Papot in June last year, and has never been knocked out.

The tattooed South African fighter, under the tutelage of Vusi Mtolo at the BMA gym in Edenvale, has done his homework and is well aware of the potential snags Ahmed may present.

“The biggest danger is his vast experience, it cannot be bought and I’m not overlooking it. He’s been around, he’s a good quality European boxer. He’s very slick and technically sound, so while he may not be a power puncher, his skill set and experience is something to be wary of,” Knapp said.

‘Hard fights’

With world title aspirations in a highly competitive division, Knapp knows this could be a defining moment in his career and he cannot afford to slip up. “Same goal, different fight,” he tersely added. “I have to beat all-comers.

“I’m on a level never thought I would be. We challenge ourselves, no matter how high the risks. It’s never a burden to have hard fights.”

Two of the undercard bouts tonight are also in their own right, worthy of headline status.

Unbeaten South African and IBF Africa junior middleweight champion Shervantaigh Koopman (10-0) is back from an elbow injury layoff and puts his national title belt on the line against Free State challenger Jackson Kaptein (6-1-1).

Koopman beat Simon Dladla in September 2019 via a seventh-round KO. He then went the IBF Continental route with wins against Angolan Henriques Lando and out-gunned countryman Jami Webb.

Junior bantamweight Ricardo “Magic Man” Malajika (10-2) has arguably the toughest, high-risk assignment of the night. He goes to battle in a scheduled eight-rounder against the Filipino southpaw Adrian “Wild Beast” Larasan (12-4-5 kos), Larasan is on a five-fight winning streak — all inside the distance — and commands a WBC top-10 ranking, which Malajika would no doubt love to annex.

Malajika has matured significantly since dropping an unexpected unanimous decision to Sikho Nqotole in April 2022 and boasts impressive back-to-back TKO wins against Arnel Lubisi and Sihle Jelwana.