Heavyweight Contender Needs Surgery

30.01.06: Talk about the best-laid plans… Just when things seem to go all his way, Richel Hersisia, Fight Production’s Dutch and Benelux heavyweight champion, has to swallow another set-back. Days after defeating Brazilian Rogerio Lobo in Germany on Jan. 14 in his debut for promoter Universum Box-Promotion, the 31-year-old contender from Den Haag was diagnosed with serious problems in his right shoulder which according to Dr. Alois Teuber require an immediate operation. Dr. Teuber, who at one time headed the German Boxing Federation as its president, will confirm a date for the surgery Hersisia has to undergo in Germany within the next few days.

As it seems, the injury should have been taken care of much earlier and it explains the pain problems Hersisia had developed in recent months. To his credit, despite looking below par against Lobo, the Curacao-born Dutchman never mentioned anything about it to explain his performance. “Boxing is a hurting business, and every fighter that has the words ‘No excuses, but…’ in his vocabulary, is a cheat, period,” said the 27-1 (21 KO’s) Hersisia, “let’s fix the shoulder and when I can use it again free of pain, I’m gonna kick butts again!”.

Manager Olaf Schroeder, however, did not hide his disappointment, seeing that lucrative fights with Universum are now stalled for about three months. He commented: “If those who used to work with Hersisia had the boxers best interest at heart, this problem would not have become as severe as it now is, requiring an operation. I just rue that I trusted a trainer who in his thirst to suck money out of his boxer almost ruined Richel’s health and career.”