Local boxer Jason de Freitas aspires to be the best in the country

Middleweight boxer, Jason de Freitas (24), aspires to be the best boxer in the country and is adamant his boxing career will flourish one day.

De Freitas is preparing for his next professional fight towards the end of July.

“From there I plan on making a run for the South African title,” he said.

He won his first professional fight on 9 May when he won by TKO in the second round. The middleweight said boxing gives him the opportunity to push himself to the limits, both mentally and physically. De Freitas started boxing at the beginning of 2013 after quitting his rugby career. It was at this time when he met his boxing coach Lorenzo Stevens.

“He introduced me to boxing and started training me under his carport at his house. We come from humble beginnings and didn’t start with much, only a bag, some old gloves and some makeshift weights,” he said.

Stevens always motivated him to train every day although they did not have professional boxing facilities.

Both of them used to talk about how Stevens would own a gym one day and this came to fruition when the Evolution Boxing and Fitness Gym was opened in Boskruin Shopping Centre at the beginning of last year.

“I had a white collar fight in March this year,” said De Freitas. “I then went on to do my professional grading a week later. I won my first professional fight by TKO in the second round. A dream come true.”

Freitas said his first fight was exciting and nerve racking but he had put a lot of effort in preparation for it.

“My team at Evolution was behind me every step of the way. The hardest part building up for me was doing the weight cut a few days before where boxers literally starve themselves in order to make the required weight,” he said.

De Freitas said he was grateful Stevens had introduced him to boxing and never dreamt one day he would end up as a professional boxer.

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