South African heavyweight boxing champion Ruaan Visser took his first steps back into the sport on Sunday by overpowering two-fight novice Luke Sutherland in a non-title fight at Times Square in Menlyn.
The outcome of this fight was never in doubt, with the 27-year old Visser proving to be much too strong and experienced for his fellow Gautenger. The only surprise was that the ‘Giant King’ took six rounds before he could overpower the much smaller and outclassed Sutherland.
Sutherland, who boasts two victories in his short boxing career, gave up his fruitless attempt against Visser after he was battered with a couple of straight lefts and a sharp right to the head late in the sixth round. He went down on his right knee and the one-sided contest was stopped by the referee with just a few seconds remaining of the round. The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds.
Visser now has 13 victories and one defeat on his scorecard – with 12 fights ending within the distance. The South African champion, however, has much to learn before he could be considered good enough to take on quality overseas opponents.
The South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) had only recently lifted a suspension on Visser after it originally found traces of a suspected banned substance in his urine sample. After further investigation SAIDS overruled their earlier decision and gave Visser permission to return to the sport.
The suspected positive test was taken just after Visser beat an overweight Osborne Machimana for the national heavyweight crown on February 22. It will be interesting to see what the immediate future holds for the SA champ who stands at 2.07m in his boxing boots.
African News Agency (ANA)