Junior middleweight boxer Roarke Knapp will begin his road to redemption at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park on Friday night. The popular boxer will head the “Rivalry Reloaded” bill against the tough Adones Cabalquinto of the Philippines. The former undisputed world heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, will be the special guest in the event.

It will be Knapp’s first bout since his agonising loss at the same venue back in June. One of South Africa’s most promising young fighters, Knapp lost in his bid for a world title when he was knocked out in the third round by Jorge Garcia Perez from Mexico in a clash for the vacant IBO junior middleweight title

The 26-year-old will have to make the necessary adjustments to challenge the division’s top fighters. And he is looking to get his career back on track again.

“You can call it a redemption. Obviously, my last fight wasn’t all we planned. We planned it to be a swansong and disappear into sunset. It didn’t go that way and we are here to correct that and right and wrong and it starts Friday night. It has been a good camp and I have trained diligently with my teammates as always i train very hard,” says Knapp.

The 26-year-old former International Boxing Organisation Youth and African Boxing Union junior middleweight champion suffered a major setback when he lost to the Mexican in June.

“First and foremost, it cost me a world title and it slipped through my fingers which puts you on the backfoot and my world rankings went down quite considerably which I wasn’t expecting it’s part of the game you win some, you lose some, it was my second loss of my career and I intend to get back to winning ways and again make a challenge for the world title in the couple of years,” he says.

Cabalquinto is an experienced southpaw boxer and is rated among the best junior middleweights in Asia. He has an impressive record of 16 knockouts in 26 wins. But Knapp is well prepared for the fight.

“I haven’t watched any of his footage. For me, it’s a personal thing. I don’t like to watch a lot of footage. My trainer does that and they coach me accordingly and we develop a game plan and I don’t want to overthink and complicate things. So, I intend to do what I need to do and trust in the game plan that my trainer Vusi Mtolo put together,” he says.

On the under card, Keanu Koopman will fight Bonke Duku for the vacant SA Welterweight title, while Siyakholwa Kuse and Beaven Sibanda will go toe-to-toe in a WBC International Straw-weight title fight.

Video: BOXING – Knapp looking for redemption