Verbal jibes keep coming at presser
Local boxing’s bad boy Tommy Oosthuizen turned nice guy at the pre-fight press conference at Emperors Palace on Tuesday‚ smiling his way through the verbal barbs and even wishing opponent Thabiso Mchunu well.
The pair top the Call to Glory bill at the casino on Saturday.
The last time Oosthuizen appeared at a media function to announce the bout a few months back he called himself “the toughest f***ing guy around here” and spoke confidently of dispatching Mchunu and then Kevin Lerena.
Oosthuizen kept his talk clean and short. “I was ready [for the fight] last week‚” he said. “All the best to the Smiths [Mchunu’s trainer Sean] and Thabiso.”
Smith the coach said it was an honour to “go to war against Harold”‚ referring to Oost- huizen’s trainer‚ ‘The Hammer’ Volbrecht‚ but he took a dig at the boxer. “Throw the running shoes away‚ it’s time to go to war.”
Oosthuizen smiled.
His demeanour didn’t change when Smith’s father Kosie‚ the hard-hitting light-heavyweight star from the 1970s‚ interjected from the floor. “He can’t fight‚ he’s a bum‚” Kosie shouted at Oosthuizen from the floor. “I’m 73‚ I’ll show he’s a bum.”
Ryno Liebenberg spoke of how he loves his super-middleweight opponent Alfonso Tissen; the pair have been sparring partners for years. “We’re mates. I love Alfonso‚ but I’m going to knock him out … I’m going to bliksem him.” Oosthuizen smiled. Tissen’s trainer Gert Strydom retorted: “We know what we’re up against. I respect Ryno … he’s going to try bliksem Alfonso. We’re going to bliksem you back.”