Reformed boxer Tommy Oosthuizen will be looking to continue his impressive comeback when he steps back into the ring for a date with Ugandan Musa “Hitman” Ntege this afternoon.
The talented but troubled pugilist known as Tommy Gun will continue his comeback trail when he trades leather with the unheralded Ntenge for the vacant African Boxing Union cruiserweight title at Carousel Casino in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria.
This will be Oosthuizen’s fourth fight since overcoming his demons and will be looking to make it four wins on the spin, having defeated Youssouf Masango Mwanza, Limbano Lano and Godfrey Paulo Kamala.
Oosthuizen, a former IBO world champion in two weight classes, having held the super-middleweight title from 2011 to 2014, and the light-heavy-weight title in 2015, is on the hunt for more gold. He heads into the bout against Ntenge as the favourite given his vast experience, having won numerous titles during his career, which started in 2008.
Oosthuizen has battled demons off the ring throughout his career, with stints in jail, struggles with drug addiction and public fights threatening to derail his progress.
This, however, seems to be in the past now for Oosthuizen, who appears to be on the straight and narrow with the assistance of his promoter wife Jani Hebler.
Hebler, of 5th Element Promotions, is responsible for the resurrection of Oosthuizen’s career, having ensured the 34-year-old stayed active over the past two and a half years.
Oosthuizen and Ntenge’s cruiserweight bout will be the main event in a tournament that will see fans treated to seven fights, including the under-card battle between Henrique “Spartacus” Lando from Angola and Congolese Faraday Mukandila. There’s also a female lightweight bout between Bonita van Jaarsveld and Zimbabwe’s Mitchell Sibongile Mubaya over eight rounds.
In another interesting bout, Keagan Mills will look to fly the South African flag high against Zimbabwean Thembani Mhlanga in a super middleweight
battle over six rounds.
