It’s more than the just about glory for Tommy Oosthuizen when he faces Daniel Bruwer for the vacant (WBA) World Boxing Association light heavyweight title but more about proving he has overcome his battle with substance abuse.
Oosthuizen is a former International Boxing Organisation super middleweight champion and was once South African boxing’s superstar, is undefeated in 27 fights. His career derailed when he started using drugs and abusing alcohol.
This was the start of the downward spiral for “Tommy Gun” as he was stripped of his belt after failing to make the required weight for last year fight against Robert Berridge.
Subsequently, he started spending less time in the gym, forcing promoter Rodney Berman and his former trainer Harold Volbrecht to part company with him.
Fortunately for the Boksburg pugilist he has been given a second chance, with his first bout taking place in his hometown at the Birchwood hotel after completing his rehabilitation, fighting under new promoter Andre Thysse.
Sitting down at the press conference in Edenvale, an emotional Oosthuizen said “I went to freedom of recovering center in Nigel and I received lots of support from fans, friends and family that motivated me to deal with the matter. It’s time I fight back and I’m feeling awesome and really grateful for my recovery. I will prove i’m back to my old self”.
Recovering motivated him seeking to help people stay out of the streets and not becoming victims of drugs and alcohol.Oosthuizen is considering starting his own training gym that will allow him to advise people about the danger of substances and empowering them to be better people in the ring and outside the ring.
“More people are getting exposed to drugs and I feel it’s my time to help those who are in a position were I have been. I want to keep people away from taking drugs and the first step is building a gym where I can help them becoming champions in life who will be role models to others”, Oosthuizen added.
Despite those challenges, Oosthuizen feels ready for the fight and believes he will give a polished performance using his “speed, footwork and power'' to come up trumps.
The winner of the fight will be vaulted into the top ten of the rankings, with a possible fight against either Andre Ward or Sergey Kovalev as their reward.
“After winning this fight I would want to face the winner between Kovalev and Ward fight. I want to become champion again having all the belts. Hopefully this happens and with the support I’m getting it is possible”, Oosthuizen concluded
But to stand a chance of fighting one of those boxers he first needs to get past Bruwer.
As confident as “Tommy gun” feels, he needs to be at his best as his opponent is no walkover. He is an experienced fighter, with 24 wins, 21 coming in knockout with 6 loses. He believes he will emerge victorious and will come out guns blazing.
“I’m very experienced, being in this sport for 14 years and will use that to my advantage”, Bruwer said confidently. - Independent Media