It may be too early to talk of a resurgence in Cape Town boxing, but if it’s going to happen, Golden Gloves wants to be part of it.
Consequently, promoter Rodney Berman is just back from an encouraging sortie to the Western Cape where he signed a pair of prospects plus former SA heavyweight champion Juan Roux, all of whom will feature at Emperors Palace on April 5.
While reluctant to discuss specifics, Berman revealed that he was also in discussions with two top venues in the region with loose plans to stage an extravaganza in the city.
“The market is ripe for big-time boxing,” he proclaimed. ”The idea is to bring Las Vegas to Cape Town.”
He is already throwing around ideas for the card with the likes of Roarke Knapp, Keaton Gomes, Roux, Shervantaigh Koopman and Ricardo Malajika all in the mix.
He’s particularly excited about Roux’s potential, earmarking him as a figure who might spark the Cape’s revival given his status as a hometown hero. Roux fights Chris Thompson next month and if he looks the part, Berman hopes he can eventually follow in the path of former top heavyweights like Gerrie Coetzee, Kallie Knoetze, Jimmy Abbott, Pierre Coetzer, Johnny du Plooy and Corrie Sanders, who originally hailed from Cape Town.
The youngsters he has signed are Dean Promnick, a 24-year-old middleweight, and Dylan Prosser, a hard-punching light-heavyweight, also 24, who has major ambitions.
“They both have a lot going for them,” says Berman, whose ability to spot talent is uncanny. “But they must step up at Emperors where the spotlight will be firmly on them.”
