New man, new fighter.
Junior middleweight Roarke Knapp doesn’t want to overstate any change in his outlook, but recently becoming a father for the first time has turned his perspective upside down.
“I don’t even know where to begin,” he said when asked about the impact baby boy Ronin had made. “It’s an amalgamation of emotions I can’t explain. It’s not added motivation, but rather fear, for different reasons: I don’t want to let my little boy down by being a failure. It’s sheer love and it’s quite overwhelming [being a dad]. Fatherhood isn’t just purpose for boxing, it’s for life. It transcends boxing.”
Predictably, perhaps, Knapp and his wife drew from Samurai culture in naming their son Ronin, which means “Lone Warrior”. With Samurai tattoos on his body, Knapp is a big fan of the customs and traditions of the Japanese warriors.
And it’s from this devotion he hopes to draw on next month when he challenges unbeaten Bakary Samake of France for the WBC Silver belt.
Knapp is hard in training under Vusi Mtolo’s careful eye, his extra weight having come off nicely making him lean and trim five weeks out from his overseas showdown.
He is under no illusions. He rates Samake highly and knows that he’ll be up against it in the French prodigy’s back yard.
“I have my work cut out for me, and I’m well aware of the situation,” he reckoned. “But it’s nothing more than that. Samake’s in a good position because of exposure; he’s a cracking fighter.
“I’ve shared the ring with top competition too. He hasn’t fought anyone like me. I’m up against it, but so is he.”
It’s Knapp’s first fight on foreign soil, but he’s well aware of the dangers of home cooking. But he’s not preoccupied with the possibility. What will be will be.
“It’s not the be all and end all,” he said of possibly being stiffed by the judges. “I still have control over lots of factors in the fight. My form won’t be determined by fear. I don’t care if I’m fighting before 40 000 in Paris or in Alex township. This is something I dreamed about, fighting for a WBC belt.”
After the disappointment of a shock title loss last June, Knapp was thrilled to return to the win column when he knocked out Adones Cabalquinto six months later. It proved he was still a force to be reckoned with, not least to his army of adoring fans.
“There was a lot of pressure going in,” he said this week. “I didn’t want to end the year on a loss with the birth of my little boy,. I made my people and [promoter] Rodney proud. It was a nice way to end the year.”
If Ronin is well named, his dad is too: The name Roarke means “champion” or “famous ruler,” derived from the Irish surname Ó Ruairc.
“Happy with that,” said the 26-yerar-old, minutes removed from a hard training session.
“I’ve still got the hammer down, time to press on.”
