Liebenberg laces up one last time
‘I have done everything I wanted; it’s time to go’
Ryno Liebenberg will bring down the curtain on a successful boxing career in Russia on June 4 when he faces Fedor Chudinov for the interim WBA title.
The rugged 37-year-old fighter from Krugersdorp, who is affectionately known as “The Lion”, has held multiple international titles at light-heavyweight and super middleweight.
“Like I said before, I taught Rowan Campbell a boxing lesson, that fight was my last here at home and I will end my career with one international fight. This is the fight on June 4 that will be my last in boxing,” said Liebenberg, who dethroned Campbell as the SA, IBO All Africa and WBA Pan African champion with a bloody eighth-round stoppage at Emperors Palace on March 14.
“I made it clear to myself and my family, which has been behind me throughout my career, that I will retire after my last fight outside SA. I have done everything I wanted and it is time to say goodbye, ” said the successful businessman. “Iam glad that I won my last fight here by beating Rowan. He knows who I am now.”
Campbell, 27, lived up to his nickname of “Braveheart” in that fight, and somehow his bravery turned out to be his downfall because the longer he lasted in the fight, the more punishment he absorbed.
He was down in round two and finished the fight with a bloody face and two nasty cuts.
Referee Tony Nyangiwe stopped the one-sided affair in round eight, handing Campbell a first defeat after 12 wins.
Liebenberg improved to 14 knockouts in 21 wins against seven losses and a draw. He has fought against big-name fighters including Johnny Muller, Thomas Oosthuizen, Dennis Grachev and Eleider Alvarez in a career spanning 11 years.
Liebenberg announced that the beneficiaries of his purse money from the fight against Campbell were Soft and Safe Landing, which looks after abandoned children, the Dempsey Foundation, which looks after children with cerebral palsy, Lewe Aan Binding Centre Church and Ebenhaeser Primary School.