After Ricardo Malajika put on a career best performance in his last fight against Adrian Lerasan, stopping the highly rated Filipino in the fifth round, Golden Gloves CEO Rodney Berman plans to reward the “Magic Man.”
“That was a great performance and Ricardo proved that he deserves something big,” said Berman. Malajika will get his chance to become a world champion at Emperor’s Palace on the 19th of August when he takes on Kevin Luis Munoz of Argentina for the vacant IBO junior bantamweight world title.
It won’t be easy though. The former South American junior bantamweight and current IBF Latino bantamweight champion has a very respectable 16-1 record with 1 no contest. Nicknamed “Diamante,” he is riding a four-fight win streak. In his last fight in February this year, he outpointed undefeated Colombian knockout artist, Isaac Arias.
One thing is for certain: The 24-year-old from Las Heras, Mendoza is coming to win.
The IBO may not be as highly regarded as the four major sanctioning bodies, but it is a fact that many IBO champions, such as Cassius Baloyi, Nkosinathi Joyi and Hekkie Budler went on to success in the so called the Big Four. It remains an important step up the ladder to the big time.
Speaking about which, another fighter who is on the up-and-up is junior middleweight, Roarke Knapp.
He has shown that he can bounce back from defeat and has the heart to win a war of attrition. His skills have steadily improved under trainer Vusi Mtolo and he proved that he can box as well as brawl. He patiently outboxed dangerous Mexican gatekeeper, Dante Jordan and in his most recent fight, he overcame a cagey veteran in Ahmed El Mousaoui.
“We are hoping to put Roarke on in August. The plan is to have him fight for a WBC silver belt,” says Berman.
Judging by the reception the young Knapp gets when he enters the ring at Emperor’s Palace, this will be a night to remember!
