Roarke Knapp is at full well being and set to renew his rise by means of the ranks.
The once-beaten junior middleweight prospect will face Jorge Garcia Perez on June 15. Their scheduled 12-round bout will headline a Golden Gloves-promoted occasion at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa.
It’ll mark the primary ring look for Knapp (17-1-1, 12 knockouts) since final September. The 26-year-old Johannesburg native was as a result of face Josh Kelly on December 16. Nonetheless, a hand damage pressured him to withdraw. derail the struggle. Now the wholesome South African will return at a well-known venue in opposition to the Mexican import.
Knapp (17-1-1, 12 knockouts) received 9 of his first ten professional outings. The lone blemish was a draw earlier than he misplaced his unbeaten report through seventh-round knockout to Brandon Thysse after dominating early. The 26-year-old has since received eight in a row. Included in that batch is a June 2022 determination victory over Thysse to avenge his lone profession defeat.
In his most up-to-date begin, Knapp stopped Poland’s Przemyslaw Zysk within the fifth spherical final September 2 at Emperor’s Palace. The win was his first inside the space since August 2021.
Garcia (29-4, 24 KOs) has been an expert for a decade and received his first 14 fights earlier than dropping a choice to veteran journeyman Josue Obando. The 27-year-old Los Mochis, Mexico native received his subsequent three earlier than he suffered two defeats in a three-fight span. The latter of the 2 was an August 2020 unanimous determination to countryman and two-time title challenger Carlos Ocampo in Mexico Metropolis.
The 27-year-old from Los Mochis has since received eleven of his previous twelve begins, together with 4 in a row headed into this struggle.
Additionally on the present, Knapp’s stablemate Shervantaigh Koopman will battle Wendy Toussaint in a junior middleweight contest.
Koopman (13-0, 9 KOs) made his debut in 2018 and claimed the nationwide title in his eighth struggle. The 29-year-old has since crushed Thysse and teak-tough Cristiano Ndombassy.
Toussaint (15-2, 7 KOs) moved from Haiti to New York and made his bones on the native scene earlier than getting crushed by 2016 Olympian Charles Conwell (KO 9) on ShoBox. The 31-year-old received two fights earlier than he dropped a technical determination to Ardreal Holmes Jr. final June in Detroit. He rebounded with a win final October 28 in his adopted hometown of Huntington, New York.
Rising strawweight Beaven Sibanda will tackle the vastly extra skilled Siphamandla Baleni in preliminary motion.
Sibanda (6-0, 2 KOs) turned professional in his native Zimbabwe in 2022 and rapidly caught the attention of Golden Gloves. Since then, the 22-year-old has turn out to be a daily at this venue. He outpointed Mthokozisi Ngxaka over six rounds on the identical September 2 present that noticed Knapp and Koopman put up wins.
Baleni (21-6-2, 8 KOs) has confronted a lot of his nation’s high strawweight since his 2011 professional debut. The 33-year-old has by no means been stopped in 29 professional bouts and has beforehand claimed the nationwide strawweight title. He comes off a lopsided defeat to 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov on November 6 in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Questions and/or feedback may be despatched to Anson at [email protected] and you’ll comply with him on Twitter: @AnsonWainwright
