Chris Van Heerden is Making Moves in The United States

by Francisco Salazar

Welterweight Chris Van Heerden has it pretty good thus far in his professional career.

He holds a title belt, has lost only once in his career, and is admired and respected in his homeland of South Africa.

Van Heerden could continue to fight in familiar surroundings in front of family and friends. However, despite the familiar amenities Van Heerden has available to him, a change has to be made, especially if Van Heerden wants to continue towards a path to greatness.

Instead of maintaining the status of being a big fish in a small pond in a country that has produced a number of champions and great fighters, Van Heerden has decided that a move to the United States is what is necessary for his career.

And he may be doing it at the right time. He is one month removed from turning 26 years old, believing he has yet to reach his peak.

Still not convinced about the southpaw Van Heerden? Fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez, with at least one loss, migrated to the United States from the Philippines and Argentina respectively and carved out great careers.

Better sparring and better gyms in the United States attracted Van Heerden, where he saw it first hand while visiting Southern California.

“I love my country (South Africa), but there are three reasons why I want to come to the United States,” Van Heerden told Boxingscene.com in an interview at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood on Saturday night. “First, I’ve only fought four times in a span of two years. Second, there isn’t a lot of opportunities for fights in South Africa. And third, there isn’t a lot of good sparring. I had heard about what’s in the United States and came to see it for myself.”

Van Heerden (19-1, 10 KOs) has spent the last week or so in Southern California, where he has visited gyms and attended fight cards in the area.

The networking he has done so far during this time has led to him visiting the offices of Golden Boy Promotions to him possibly being brought in to spar Brandon Rios in preparation of Rios’ fight against Manny Pacquiao.

But, first and foremost, Van Heerden wants to utilize his time in the United States to make him become a better fighter.

“I know I’ve competed and I’m happy for what I’ve accomplished so far. But honestly, I know I could become twice as good as I am right now if I worked here in the United States. I love fighting a lot and this is where I feel it benefits me.”

Van Heerden has not fought since winning a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton on March 2nd in Johannesburg, not far from his home in Meyerton. He has won his last five bouts in a row since a highly disputed 12 round split decision loss to Nikola Stevanovic in May of 2010.

There was talk of Van Heerden fighting Paul McCloskey after his victory over Hatton. However, talks between the two never materialized.

Van Heerden is now managed by Gary Hyde, an Irishman who also manages Guillermo Rigondeaux and prospect Levan Chvamichava. Van Heerden is targeting a return to the ring in October, which will give him plenty of time to set up training camp at a gym in the area and prepare for his return.

He has envisioned training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood or the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard. He has been approached to possibly spar with Brandon Rios in his preparation for the Pacquiao fight in November.

His trainer is Peter Smith, a one time prospect from South Africa who trained in the United States before retiring about 10 years ago.

“He’s a very good trainer. I honestly think he back to South Africa an Americanized style of boxing. I’m blessed to have him in my corner.”

“That’s my style. It’s in me to come at you and apply pressure to you. You may hit me, but I will do my best to hit you twice in return.”

One might think Van Heerden might miss his surroundings once he makes his migration to the United States complete. He may not see his family regularly or hang out with friends as often.

But it is a sacrifice he is willing to make and to fulfill that dream to become a legitimate contender.

“Traveling to the United States is not going to affect me. I’m so motivated to come over here to the United States and start over. I’ve lived on my own since I was young and I would see my family every so often.”

“This is a career change where I will make the most of something. I’m just very excited for it.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper. He could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on twitter at Salazar_soccer