The reigning light heavyweight South African champion, Gerhard Thysse, is ready to get back into the ring and defend his titles.
In addition to his South African title, he currently holds the Zone Four Africa title, which he won in Botswana last year.
He says winning the Africa title has been his greatest moment in the ring.
It also secured his place to be part of the team to qualify for the Olympics, which was meant to happen in Tokyo later this year.
His ultimate goal for this year was to win in France and qualify to represent South Africa in the Olympics.
Thysse appreciates his wins even more now after he tasted defeat in his first-ever boxing match.
“It motivated me to work a lot harder to win my next bout and prevent the disappointment of losing again.
“Winning has helped me a lot and has boosted my confidence, especially for international bouts where you’re fighting another country’s national champion,” says Thysse.
He has come a long way after winning his first title in 2013, which was the Northern Gauteng title.
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That same year, he also took a bronze medal home as the South African champion.
It has not all been sunshine and roses for Thysse who has overcome career-threatening injuries to become the boxer he is today.
“I have broken my hand during a bout, had two shoulder injuries as well as a wrist injury.
“Each injury had me out of the ring for about eight months,” says Thysse.
For this champion, being in lockdown is not all that different from being injured.
He has been following his normal training schedule which includes jogging, skipping, interval training, heavy bag workout and shadow boxing.
Thysse says there will be more than enough time to get the proper conditioning once he can get back into the ring again.
Outside of the boxing ring, Thysse is a teacher at Hoërskool Hugenote.
Juggling the two careers is difficult but doable, says Thysse.
“The most important thing is to stay humble and work hard,” he added.
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