Guess Who is Back!!!
The Hurricane himself, Johnny Muller, bulked up to 100kg and training furiously in his home gym to give the professional game one last run.
Fittingly, there is room for him too with Golden Gloves’ planned “Heavyweight Explosion”, in the books for March 2026, fast taking shape.
Among the early competitors are fast-rising Juan Alberts, prospect Gilly Dickenson, SA amateur super heavyweight champion Ethan Peters, heavy-hitting Jose Kadima and of course Muller, who boasts wins over Kevin Lerena, Akani Phuzi and Mateusz Masternak.
Muller, a former SA light heavyweight champion, is just 34 and believes he still has something to offer the sport. He was never afraid to mix it with bigger fighters and now has the dimensions to comfortably campaign at the higher weight.
The plan is for promoter Rodney Berman to supplement these five with an array of African talent, both to give it a Pan-African flavour and to pay heed to fans’ endless fascination, and enjoyment, of the heavyweights.
“Cedric Kushner and I had a lot of fun with Heavyweight Explosion all those years ago,” recalled Berman. “It’s a winning recipe and a localised version can do really well, especially when the big boys start landing their bombs.”
The format is still to be determined, but early expectations are that the local crew will be steered well away from each other initially.
