‘The Diamond’ is locked, loaded and ready to go
GARAGE Boys mixed martial arts fighter Martin ‘The Diamond’ de Beer has been putting in the hard yards and is ready and confident for his upcoming bantamweight bout against Bellville’s Gary ‘Relentless’ Joshua.
The stage is set and the showdown will take place at Grandwest, Cape Town on Saturday, 31 March.
This will not be an easy fight for De Beer, who faces an unbeaten Jiu-Jitsu and kickboxing specialist on his home turf.
The 29-year-old Capetonian fights out of Tricore MMA under trainer Ruhan Louw and has recorded three wins in his professional career by way of submission, a TKO and a points decision.
Despite the home ground advantage and an unblemished record, Joshua also has a height and reach advantage.
He is 1.72m tall and has a reach of 183cm, compared to De Beer who stands at 1.68m and has a reach of 166cm.
But De Beer has more experience on his side and will look to tap into that to pick up the win.
The Zululander has recorded six wins (four submissions and two from TKOs) and three losses (two submissions and one points decision) thus far on the pro circuit.
The Muay Thai, kickboxing and boxing specialist could count himself unlucky with the three losses, as all three fights went down to the wire.
De Beer is well conditioned and uses his range effectively to chase and get in front of his opponent, which has proved effective in the past.