Emerging young boxer back in the ring with a mission
A 23-year-old young middleweight boxer from Pretoria's good victory at a recent high-profile tournament potentially created opportunities for him to become a champion in the ring.
Boxing enthusiasts from Pretoria can look forward to be backing a professional boxer with championship potential in their midst again.
While the biggest local boxing star of the current decade, former cruiserweight world champion Danie Venter, has not officially announced his retirement, it is unlikely that he will be seen in action again. His last fight was in February 2016 when he lost to Mairis Briedis of Latvia in a fight for the International Boxing Federation Inter-Continental cruiserweight title.
Venter turned 39 in March this year and his coach and confidant, Charles Backhouse, has also officially retired from the sport. It is therefore quite certain that Venter will not box again.
Boxing fans in Pretoria have been asking for a long time when the next young star will appear on the scene from local ranks. Now it seems that this yearning will soon realize. Experts of the sport are excited about the future of the promising young Cowin Ray after his good win in a fight last weekend against the more experienced Jade Karam.
Ray beat Karam pretty easily on points in a super middleweight battle over six rounds. The battle was part of Golden Gloves‘ Call to Glory Tournament at Emperors Palace.
The young Ray, a product of the Woodhill College in Pretoria, had a very successful amateur career during which he won Gauteng North and Gauteng titles. He hits very hard for a middleweight boxer and has won three of his five professional fights with knockouts.
In an interview after the fight last weekend Ray acknowledged that he experienced uncertainty about his boxing career since his previous professional fight early last year. According to his own recognition he did not approach his boxing career seriously during this time.
However, his trainer Sebastiaan Rothmann from the Elite Boxing Gym in Pretoria convinced him to focus seriously on his boxing career and since the beginning of this year he started training again, while he also changed his lifestyle and social environment drastically.
After the victory against Karam, 23-year old Ray said that he is positive to build from here and take on the middleweight division in South Africa on his way to a possible national title fight.
Rothman said he would like Ray to stay as busy as possible to systematically build his career. They have already received an offer from Golden Gloves to promote Ray’s career, which is also an indication that his potential has been recognized by one of South Africa’s top boxing institutions.
Pretoria’s boxing enthusiasts can therefore remember the name Cowin Ray. This youngest son of former flamboyant local heavyweight boxer, Basil Ray, could be the next local star to wear a national or even international title belt around his waist.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
