Bitter junior middleweight rivals Rowan Campbell and Ryno Liebenberg display the WBA Pan-African championship belt ahead of their Sunday fight. Picture: Droeks Malan
On Sunday afternoon, the appropriately named Golden Gloves “D-Day” boxing tournament at Emperor’s Palace will settle a protracted war once and for all. Such has been the hype surrounding this on-off-on again 12-round contest, that no less than three sanctioning partners across the boxing landscape have joined the feeding frenzy and fallen over one another to garner sanctioning fees and throw their championship belts into the mix.
“Ryno is a good, tough fighter but I am ready, I am fit, I’m feeling strong. I just want to put on a good fight and a good performance,” the quietly confident Campbell told The Ring magazine. “I always plan to knock the guy in front of me out. I never really want to beat anyone on points. That’s what I’m going in there to do.”