The man with the fastest fists in South Africa, Tommy Oosthuizen – or Tommy Gun, as his supporters know him – is once again a champion in the boxing ring.

Any boxing fan who has so far doubted the seriousness with which this multiple world champion approaches his return to boxing, should have been present on Sunday night at his fight for the African Boxing Union’s (ABU) cruiserweight title against Musa “Hitman” Ntege from Uganda.

Oosthuizen was on the warpath from the first second of this fight, which was part of 5th Element Promotions’ ninth Battle of the Warriors boxing tournament at the Carousel Casino north of Pretoria.

His very first salvo of blows left his Ugandan opponent reeling. From that moment on, Ntege, who also refers to himself as “The Dinosaur”, was somewhere between reality and a dream world. He instinctively tried to recover as the referee counted down the mandatory eight-seconds. But a few seconds later, when the fight continued, he was back on the canvas.

After only one minute and three seconds in the first round, the fight was over, when Oosthuizen hit the ABU’s East and Central Africa cruiserweight champion so hard with another few blows, that he was left hanging on the ropes of the boxing ring in the Cheyenne Saloon at the Carousel Casino.

There will certainly still be the willful sceptics who will have something to say about the fact that Ntege was almost seven kilograms lighter than Oosthuizen during the weigh-in session on Saturday afternoon. The fact is, however, that he is still in the cruiserweight class – too heavy to qualify as light heavyweight, while he has been boxing in this popular weight class since 2018 and has already defended his regional ABU title several times all over the East and Central African region.

Oosthuizen, on the other hand, is definitely a man on a mission. No one can doubt that, as a former IBO world champion in two different weight classes and a man with 37 professional fights under his belt, he has the talent, experience and ability to reach the highest level of the sport in the cruiserweight division.

Since his return to boxing in September 2021, Oosthuizen, who turns 35 on April 2, has been ignored by several local and international champions when he has challenged them.

However, now that he is the new ABU cruiserweight champion, he will automatically also be recognized on the World Boxing Council (WBC) rankings. This means that his management can negotiate quality fights for him, which can help him rise up the rankings of the WBC.

With a bit of luck, Oosthuizen could therefore soon become a challenger for the WBC’s cruiserweight champion, Badou Jack.

– The Oosthuizen vs Ntege bout was the only fight during the Battle of the Warriors 9 tournament that produced a knockout. During a night that produced a lot of action at the Carousel Casino, all five other bouts were decided on points.

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