Roarke Knapp is back in action and ready to continue his ascent in the junior middleweight division. The 26-year-old prospect from Johannesburg, South Africa, will face Jorge Garcia Perez on June 15 in a 12-round bout headlining a Golden Gloves-promoted event at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa.
Knapp (17-1-1, 12 KOs) has been out of the ring since last September due to a hand injury that forced him to withdraw from a scheduled fight against Josh Kelly in December. Now fully recovered, Knapp is eager to resume his career at a venue he knows well. His most recent fight saw him stop Poland’s Przemyslaw Zysk in the fifth round, marking his first knockout win since August 2021.
Jorge Garcia Perez (29-4, 24 KOs) brings a decade of professional experience to the ring. The 27-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico, started his career with 14 straight wins before hitting some bumps, including a loss to veteran journeyman Josue Obando. Garcia has since bounced back, winning eleven of his last twelve fights, including a four-fight win streak heading into his bout with Knapp.
Also featured on the card is Knapp’s stablemate, Shervantaigh Koopman, who will face Wendy Toussaint in a junior middleweight contest. Koopman (13-0, 9 KOs) has remained undefeated since turning pro in 2018, claiming the national title in his eighth fight. He has notable wins over Brandon Thysse and Cristiano Ndombassy. Toussaint (15-2, 7 KOs), originally from Haiti and now fighting out of New York, aims to rebound after a technical decision loss to Ardreal Holmes Jr. last June.
Rising strawweight Beaven Sibanda will also be in action, taking on the more seasoned Siphamandla Baleni. Sibanda (6-0, 2 KOs), a 22-year-old from Zimbabwe, has quickly made a name for himself and is a regular at Emperors Palace. Baleni (21-6-2, 8 KOs), a veteran of the division, has never been stopped in 29 professional bouts and previously held the national strawweight title. He is looking to bounce back from a defeat to 2016 Olympic Gold medalist Hasanboy Dusmatov.
Fight card:
▪️Roarke Knapp vs. Jorge Garcia Perez, 12 rounds, for the vacant IBO World super welterweight title
▪️Shervantaigh Koopman vs. Wendy Toussaint, 10 rounds, super welterweight
▪️Beaven Sibanda vs. Siphamandla Baleni, 8 rounds, minimumweight
▪️Chris Thompson vs. Juan Roux, 8 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Charlton Malajika vs. Arnel Lubisi, 6 rounds, bantamweight
▪️Bryan Thysse vs. Sanele Mbatha, 4 rounds, light heavyweight
