Having had a promotional hand in two of heavyweight boxing’s biggest upsets, namely Klitschko-Sanders and Lewis-Rahman, Golden Gloves Promotions has a long history with boxing’s glamour division.
Many South African heavyweights of consequence have passed through the promotion’s doors. The most successful was the late Corrie Sanders who turned the pugilistic world on its head when he upset future great Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBO world title. Pierre Coetzer and Johnny du Plooy also had notable international careers and their names will forever be linked to the classic war they waged against each other.
The promotion’s latest signing is the undefeated 6-0 Juan “Rhino” Roux. Just two weeks removed from scoring a spectacular first round knockout of Wilhelm Nebe, he surprised friend and foe when he outpointed fellow undefeated Tian Fick over 12 rounds to capture the national crown. In one of the best local heavyweight fights in recent memory, Roux was relentless against the taller and more experienced Fick. After a tentative start, his rapid-fire combination punching to the head and body gradually gave him the upper hand. Fick simply couldn’t match his relentless pace.
2021 was a Cinderella story for the youngster who started boxing simply to lose weight. Motivated to build on his success in 2022 and there is no doubt he is at the right place to take the next step. Promoter, Rodney Berman is cautiously optimistic. “He is a talented young fighter with a bit of a punch, but it is still early days. The key is to bring him along slowly and not throw him in the deep end too soon.”
Roux will form part of the “Heavyweight Mania” card at Emperor’s Palace on the 19th of March. He will face his most experienced opponent yet in the form of the 8-5 Josh Pretorius. Nicknamed “Red Beast,” Pretorius has solid boxing skills and should give Roux a stern test.
The card is, of course, headlined by former IBO cruiserweight champion, Kevin Lerena, who will be making his heavyweight debut against Bogdan Dinu.
Roux will also serve as sparring partner for Lerena in the run up to the card which should provide a valuable learning experience. As middleweight great Marvin Hagler once said: “When you rub shoulders with the best, some of the gold will rub off.” Will that be the case with Juan Roux?
With Lerena our next big heavyweight hope, let us hope that Juan Roux fulfills the faith put in him. Together, they may just make the heavyweight division interesting again.
