24 SPORT FRIDAY JUNE 3 2016 The Star

WORKING UP A SWEAT: Johnny Muller (left) is put through his paces in the ring by trainer Harold “The Hammer Volbrecht at Smith’s Gym in Sandton. Muller will fight Micki Nielsen of Denmark (21-0-0) in the Super Four Cruiserweight championship at Emperors Palace on June 11. PICTURE: ANTON DE RAS

Muller wants revenge, but great Dane in his way

YOU WOULD think the poten-tial of swelling his bank ac-count by a whopping +/-R900 000 would be the driving motiv-ation behind Johnny Muller’s intensive training schedule.

But as he prepares for the Super Four “Night of Reckon-ing”, Muller has one thing in his mind – revenge.

That he could actually not even get the chance to face up to Kevin Lerene is the least of his concerns – Muller so driven to get even with his conqueror that he would be cheering his foe on.

“I hope he wins next week and I will do the same so we

meet again in the final,” says Muller “There is only one more shot for us to show who is the best.”

Muller and Lerena – South Africa’s representatives in the Golden Gloves Promotion tour-nament that has a massive $100 000 at stake – have fought twice before.

While Muller was victorious via a twelve round unanimous points’ decision back in 2014, Lerene evened the score with a 10th round stoppage last month.

Muller is still seething from that defeat.

But to gain his revenge, the Roodepoort fighter has to first inflict a maiden loss on the un-beaten Danish star Micki Niel-

sen whom he meets in the semi-final round taking place next Saturday at Emperor’s Palace.

It is a fight he believes he will have no problem winning.

“The guy I’m fighting is very good,” he chuckles as he ac-knowledges the Dane’s 21 and 0 record.

“He is undefeated but I’m ready for him.”

That he goes into the fight as an underdog does not bother him. Instead it serves as motiv-ation, he says.

“I don’t care about being the least favourite. It works for me and it will give me a chance to prove I can come up as the victor.”

Though a favourite, Nielsen

– trained by former two-time world champion Joey Gamache – is clearly not looking beyond Muller.

“I work toward a game plan for every fight and Muller is a mountain to climb,” the Dane says before expressing his de-light at the choice of judges. “It’s good that we’ve got neutral judges.

Lerene, on the other hand, is solely focused on moving up the world rankings and is not bothered by who he has to beat to achieve his goal.

“Whoever they put in front of me I will be prepared for him,” he says.

“Being in the top 10 in the world inspires me because it

will present greater exposure and opportunities.”

Lerena fights Argentina’s Roberto Felicianop Bolonti in the semi-final of the tourna-ment whose final is scheduled for October 22 at the same venue.

The winner will pocket $60 000 with the loser getting a con-solation prize of $40 000.

Lerena would not be drawn into discussing Muller’s ob-session with fighting him, but hinted at being confident he would easily dispose of his foe should they meet again.

“The first time I lost to Mul-ler I was inexperienced. Now I am a more well-rounded fighter.”

LESEDI HOBBSByline Title

Something fishy on Fury’s diet

IN his hideaway on the

Dutch-Belgian border,

Tyson Fury is reshaping

that gigantic 6ft 9in body

in preparation for his

rematch with Wladimir

Klitschko on July 9.

Ever the walking con-

tradiction, the Gypsy

King who defied all odds

to end Klitschko’s dec-

ade-long reign over world

heavyweight boxing has

given up eating meat yet

is building muscle in ex-

pectation of inflicting a

knockout in next month’s

clash.

“It will be a different

fight in Manchester,”

says Fury, who bamboo-

zled Klitschko with a

mixture of mind games

and agility in Germany

when he won last Novem-

ber. “Klitschko will have

to try something different

and I must change to be

ready for him.

“It might seem odd that

I’m cutting out red meat.

I used to love sitting down

to a huge steak but now

it’s seafood and fish salad.

“I used to tell myself

that a cow is stronger

than a fish. Now when

I’m in a restaurant and

someone on the next table

orders a juicy side of

beef I’m disgusted that an

animal has been killed to

feed him.

“I feel fitter and

sharper on a diet of fish.

I’m no longer like the lion

who’s gorged himself on

a kill and then has to go

and lie down in the sun to

sleep it off.”

Even so, he is putting

on weight so as to with-

stand the higher ratio

of punches he expects

Klitschko to throw on

July 9.

“I’m trimming fat but

adding muscle,” he ex-

plains. “It’s a balancing

act. I can’t go under 10

percent body fat or I’ll

feel the punches.

“I’m bigger on the

chest and arms than I’ve

ever been. But I’ll still be

able to move despite being

half a stone heavier than

last time, at just under 18

stone.”

Fury’s physical condi-

tion is in marked contrast

to the blubber he proudly

exposed five weeks ago at

the press conference. He

says: “I don’t believe in

training every day of the

year, like Wladimir.

“I can go from being

a fat pig on the booze to

feeling really fit. Go from

champagne, vodka, beer

and lobster to winning a

world title.”

Now, five weeks into 11

weeks of Spartan prepar-

ation, Fury – who holds

the WBO, WBA and IBO

titles – is deep, not only

in dedicated training, but

virtual isolation.

“Holland has always

been good for me,” he

says. “Here I’m away from

every distraction. Just me

and my team. No visitors.

No family.

“I have to concentrate

on Wlad. He will be more

dangerous than in the

first fight. A wounded ani-

mal is always dangerous.

“I have achieved my

childhood ambition by

winning the titles. But it’s

easier to become cham-

pion than stay champion.

It’s not my dream any

more but it is about liv-

ing the dream.

“He would beat anyone

else but me. I have de-

stroyed him mentally and

physically. When we meet

he’ll see I am massive.

And I will knock him out.

I’m a bull.”

Then he smiles at

the thought of how he

has become one without

devouring a single cow. –

Daily Mail

JEFF POWELLLondon

Pros slam move to open GamesLONDON: Amateur boxing’s decision to allow profession-als into the Olympics for the first time drew fighting talk on Wednesday from cham-pions and sanctioning bodies opposed to the break with tradition.

The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC), which governs the country’s profes-sional fight scene, said the change was dangerous, dis-respectful and “against the spirit of the Olympics”.

“It is the hope of the Brit-ish Boxing Board of Control and many within the profes-sional Sport in Great Britain and throughout the world that AIBA reconsider such a move that is not beneficial to the sport as a whole,” it added in a statement.

AIBA, the international boxing association for ama-teurs, earlier approved a constitutional change that would allow professionals to compete at the Rio Games in August.

AIBA boss Ching-Kuo Wu said in Lausanne that the change to the AIBA consti-tution was approved with 95 percent in favour – 84 of 88 voting members.

It follows a decision in March to extend the scrap-ping of headguards in men’s amateur boxing – introduced three years ago – to the forth-coming Olympics.

Some 26 Olympic spots will be up for grabs when fighters compete at a qualify-ing tournament in Venezuela next month.

While an AIBA spokesman said the governing body was “acting for the Olympic leg-acy” and rejected fears that there would be a disparity between amateurs and profes-sionals, boxers with experi-ence of both disagreed.

“They’re two different sports. It’s like a badminton player playing tennis,” said Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton, a former amateur who has won WBA and IBF world title belts at super-ban-tamweight, on Twitter.

“What about the amateurs who have been dreaming of the Olympics for years, have yet to qualify, and some pro takes their spot at the last minute?”

Britain’s former profes-sional world champions Carl Froch and Ricky Hatton also criticised the change.

“Goodbye amateur box-ing now as far as I’m con-cerned. Can’t say I’m a fan of this,” said Hatton, the former world welterweight and light-welterweight world champion, on his Twitter feed.

Former world heavy-weight champion Mike Tyson, who as an amateur won gold at the 1981 and 1982 Junior Olympic Games, last week branded the proposal “ridiculous”. “It’s ridiculous, it’s foolish, and some of the pro fighters are going to get beat by the amateurs. It’s just going to happen, I really believe that,” the 49-year-old said.

American Oscar De La Hoya, who won boxing gold at the 1992 Olympics as a lightweight, and went on to become a professional world champion, has also spoken out against opening up the Olympic tournament.

“Nearly a quarter-cen-tury ago, when I was just an amateur boxer, I stood atop a podium in Barcelona and was presented with what I still consider the greatest prize of my career – the Olympic gold medal,” he wrote in the Los

Angeles Times in April. “Had professionals been

allowed to participate in the ring that year, I would not have made it so far.” – Reuters

Novak cruises to semisDjokovic will now face Austrian Thiem for a shot at the French Open final

NOVAK Djokovic moved a step closer to a maiden French Open title yes-

terday, sweeping aside Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros for the eighth time.

The world No 1 will next take on Dominic Thiem after the Austrian tyro downed Bel-gian David Goffin in four sets.

Serbian Djokovic breezed through the opening set, over-came a slight glitch in the second and came back stronger after a brief rain interruption to seal a straightforward 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win.

He ended the contest on his second match point when Berd-ych returned into the net.

“It’s a Grand Slam quar-ter-final so it’s always a diffi-cult match. It’s hard to dictate the play in these conditions, it makes it tough tactically,” Djokovic said courtside.

“I played my best tennis at the right moment, I’m happy about that. I’m happy to come back here on centre court every day.”

Djokovic had won his 10 pre-vious encounters against Berd-ych and the Czech was never in a position to end the streak on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The Serbian won seven games in a row to open a 6-3, 3-0 lead before Berdych finally found his range with his boom-ing forehand and broke back hoping to force a tiebreak.

The Czech was broken to love, however, in the 12th game as Djokovic took a two-set lead.

In a light drizzle, the super-visor sent the players to the dressing room at 3-3 in the third set, much to the annoyance of Berdych, who felt the conditions had not changed since the start of the tie.

“One big circus. (We’ve been playing) two and half sets like that,” Berdych said.

A few minutes later, they were back on court and Djokovic won the three remaining games.

Thiem reached his first Grand Slam semi-final 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 6-1.

Conditions were cold and

damp. That was one reason why

the crowd remained disappoint-ingly small throughout a see-saw encounter that, until a late Goffin meltdown that saw him concede nine games running, threatened to become one of the matches of the tournament.

Thiem, 22, described as “a little bit unreal” the prospect of playing a semi-final against Djokovic, a player he has never beaten in two encounters.

“But from this moment I have to focus on tomorrow or Saturday – I don’t know when,” he said courtside, with one eye on the rain that was falling steadily.

Both players, who often prac-tice together and are friends off court, took time to find their range and the first three games yielded three breaks of serve, including one that Goffin con-ceded on a double fault.

Thiem gradually began find-ing the lines with heavy ground-strokes off both wings and, as Goffin struggled to maintain depth on his returns, sped into a 4-2 lead.

But as Thiem’s accuracy waned, the Belgian tightened his defence and, playing the key points better than his opponent, reeled off the next six games. He converted his first set point at 5-4 on a Thiem service game when the Austrian hit a back-hand groundstroke long.

With Suzanne Lenglen Court still barely a quarter full, the match continued to swing in favour of first Thiem – firing rasping groundstrokes that either pummelled the baseline or shot long – and then Goffin, less powerful but mixing his game well to prevent the Aus-trian from finding a rhythm.

The second set went to a tie-break in which Thiem, after leading 5-1, scraped through 9-7 when Goffin failed to return a vicious backhand slice.

Goffin broke earlier in the third and led 4-2 when the mood abruptly shifted.

A match that briefly threat-ened to become a classic petered out disappointingly as Thiem, adding the precision that his power game had earlier been missing, won nine of the last 10 games.

REUTERSParis

Player set to redesign Wentworth’s Edinburgh CourseWENTWORTH, England: South Africa’s most famous golfer Gary Player, pictured,

has been chosen to redesign the Wentworth Golf Club south of London in yet an-other coup for his design com-pany.

He will carry out the reno-vation of Wentworth’s famous Edinburgh Course as part of the multi-million-pound in-vestment programme being undertaken by the club and its owners Reignwood Group.

Player’s involvement will mark a continuation of his long and proud association with the Club, dating back to his 1965 World Matchplay vic-tory at Wentworth, and his subsequent input into the ori-ginal design of the Edinburgh Course, which opened in 1990.

Wentworth Club will draw upon Player’s 65 years of elite golfing experience and mar-ket-leading design credentials to establish the Edinburgh Course as one of the premier

golf courses in the world.Over the next year, a

number of improve-ments will be made to the course, in-cluding:● A comprehen-sive renewal of the irrigation sys-tem● A new bunker pro-gramme●A world class driving range and short game practice area● The replacement of grasses

on putting surfacesThe announcement is

the latest in a string of significant develop-

ments revealed at Wentworth Club and continues its relationship with

world leading course designers on the reno-

vation of its three golf courses.

Earlier this year, Ernie Els was unveiled as the designer who will lead renovations of

Wentworth’s West Course, which will begin in earnest after this year’s BMW PGA Championship.

Commenting on the an-nouncement, Player said, “Having played at Wentworth Club many times I’ve always found it to be one of the world’s elite golfing venues and I am excited to help shape the fu-ture of golf at Wentworth, building a course which is as thrilling to play as it is to de-sign.” – ANA