Chris Van Heerden Targets Ring Return on April Date

By Francisco Salazar

Looks like Chris Van Heerden will get back in the ring right away after a successful United States debut last week.

Van Heerden confirmed with Boxingscene.com that he could have another fight lined up sometime in April.

“I’m living the American dream,” said Van Heerden, who has now his last six fights in a row. “The days of not fighting for months are over.”

Last Thursday, Van Heerden stopped former fringe contender Cosme Rivera after the fourth round of a scheduled eight round bout. Van Heerden looked rusty in the first couple of rounds, but eventually found his rhythm, landing hard shots to the head of Rivera. On the advice of the ringside physician, referee Raul Caiz, Jr. stopped the fight.

Prior to the bout against Rivera, Van Heerden had not fought in almost 11 months due to some promotional issues. In his last bout on March 2nd, Van Heerden won a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision over Matthew Hatton in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Van Heerden (20-1-1, 11 KOs) now resides in Santa Monica, CA and trains out of the Rock Gym in Carson.

Rivera, who has faced numerous world titleholders, contenders, and prospects, drops to 35-18-3, 24 KOs. He has lost his last four bouts in a row.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Knockout Nation, and RingTV. He could be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing