Can ‘Tommy Gun’ reload?

Unbeaten light-heavyweight Thomas Oosthuizen fights for the first time in 14 months this weekend, but where has he been and where can he still go? Isaac Robinson assesses what’s left in the magazine of ‘Tommy Gun.’

South Africa has a history of producing decent boxers – the likes of Thulani Malinga, Gerrie Coetzee and Lovemore N’Dou have all challenged for world titles in the modern era and who can forget the late Corrie Sanders shocking Wladimir Klitschko back in 2003?

Perhaps their most underrated and underachieving boxer of recent times, though, is Oosthuizen (25-0-2-KO14) – the troubled southpaw who is preparing to end over a year out of the ring by taking on Daniel Bruwer (24-6-1-KO21) in the province of Gauteng, where both were born and raised.

As recently as February, Oosthuizen had been in the world title mix; scheduled to take on Juergen Braehmer for the WBA world light-heavyweight title. Then, as has been the case at several junctures in his career, the patience of those assisting his preparation expired and the fight was called off.

It’s no secret that Oosthuizen has struggled with both drugs and alcohol – and his trainer Harold Volbrecht was quick to offer the public a window into the chaos behind the scenes.

Volbrecht said in the wake of the withdrawal: “I pull him out of bars, I bail him out of police stations, I get him out of street fights.

“My wife Michelle and I …

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