Brian Mitchell and trainer Vusi Mtolo will host Peril at the Palace on the 18th of March. Six fighters from their stable will contest for a South African boxing title, while others will go toe-to-toe with international fighters from France and the Philippines.
The Brian Michell Boxing Academy has won eleven titles in its year and a half of existence.
And they say it’s just the beginning.
“Fair warning to anybody, locally or worldwide this is the year Vusi Mtolo and the Brian Mitchell boxing academy and every boxer fighting out of it. We are not to be taken lightly, we are not to be looked over, we are nobody’s stepping stone, we are not here to take part, we are here to take over,” says SA Junior middleweight champion, Rourke Knapp.
Fighting words from one of the country’s boxing rising stars and he has the bite to back it up. The Intercontinental WBA and ABU junior middleweight champion is one of no less than 11 fighters from the Brian Mitchell Boxing Academy with championship credentials to their name.
A young and new crop of warriors has reinvigorated the sport of boxing.
“Boxing is getting back to where it was in the 80’s and the 90’s. There’s a lot of, if you are looking at it right here, there’s a lot of young talent coming through. And Jah, I think boxing will be one of the top sports in the country very soon again,” says Brian Mitchell, a former 14-time world boxing champion.
The confidence and will to succeed are evident throughout the Mitchell stable. Ricardo Malajika takes on southpaw WBA Asian Champion, Thailand’s Adrian Lerasan at Peril at the Palace, while Shervataaigh Koopman will be looking to outbox Jakson Kaptein for the South African junior middleweight title.
“They are at a high standard already, my boys. Rourke for example has no fight or equal in Africa. He is now international only; hence he just beat the Mexican recently. There is no turning back, we are going to take over the world of boxing, my boys, fighters are not only going to conquer the continent but I am taking over the world of boxing with them,” says Brian Mitchell boxing academy trainer, Vusi Mtolo.
The brightest of those prospects is Rourke Knapp with a record of 17 fights with just one loss, fifteen of his wins coming via knock-outs. And he will be looking to repeat that against Frenchman Ahmed El Mousauol.
“Last outing was the same thing, I was fighting a Mexican, I came forward fighting a Mexican that just did not let me breathe but I got the job done and like I said that was not just for me but it was for South Africa. So moving forward, fighting international guys, that’s the motivation from now on,” says SA junior middleweight champion, Rourke Knapp.
On the 18th of March Peril at Emperors Palace extravaganza will also see a welterweight bout and two light heavyweight four-round fights.
Those will involve Keanu Koopman, Michael Head and Gerhard Thysse who will all go up against boxers who are yet to be confirmed.
