Rodney Berman has a penchant for organising tantalising boxing matches, something the veteran promoter has done since 1977.
Trading under the banner of Golden Gloves Promotions, Berman has announced the “Survivor Series”, which will feature four fighters who campaign in the junior-middleweight division.
“It will be one of the most lucrative and high-stakes domestic tournaments in recent memory,” he said.
Berman’s award-winning company has authority over the division’s SA champ Brandon “Fast Guns” Thysse and two international campaigners, Shervontaigh “SK” Koopman and Roarke “Razor” Knapp.
The middleweight division is close to Berman’s heart because it is where his company produced its first SA champion when Charlie “Silver Assassin” Weir defeated Bushy Bester for the national title at Johannesburg’s Wembley Ice Rink on August 29 1977.
Berman said the purse for the series is R2.5m over two tournaments, and the overall winner will pocket 60% of the R1.2m prize money.
The brutal path to the final begins with two electrifying 10-round semifinals on November 29 at Emperors Palace.
“The tournament is a true test of endurance: four men enter, but only the two semifinal winners advance directly to the lucrative 2026 showdown,” Berman said.
The premier matchup will see a highly anticipated rematch between Koopman and Thysse.
Koopman, then SA champion, defeated Thysse via an eighth-round stoppage in 2023.
He later vacated the national title but lost his attempt to win the IBO title to Uisman “Monstro” Lima of Angola, who stopped him in round nine in May.
Thysse won that belt via an eighth-round stoppage of Nkhensahosi Makondo in 2024, and the national champion is fresh from victory against Namibian Charles Shinima.
The second semifinal will be between Knapp and Kagiso “Reptile” Bagwasi from Botswana.
Knapp last fought in August when he defeated Jhun “Iron Fist” Carcedo of the Philippines.
He failed to win the IBO belt in April when Bakary Samaké stopped him in the eighth round in Paris.
Bagwasi from Gaborone stopped Almighty Moyo in one round in March.
He returned in June and knocked out Boyd “Sneaky” Allen in the sixth round to win the IBO All Africa title.
Bagwasi is undefeated after seven fights.
Sowetan
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