Catching up with #DeadReckCrew’s champion Karl Bergemann

#DeadReckCrew‘s champion K-1 and muay thai fighter Karl “Baywatch” Bergemann competed in PFC 12 on the 30th June in Cape Town and absolutely smashed the fight winning in Round 3 by technical knockout.

The fight was described to be a war between Thaiholics vs. High Mile Kickboxing.

I caught up with Karl post event to get a bit of a glimpse into his experience:

Can you tell me a little about the competition? 

The competition was called PFC 12, hosted by PFC Promotions at the Goodwood Correctional Services Hall, Cape Town. There were a total of 11 K-1 bouts from amateur through to pro I was the main event of the evening…

Can you give me a little bit about your opponent? 

My opponent was Herman Oberholzer from Limpopo. He has fought kickboxing at super-am level and has fought professionally as an MMA fighter but this was his pro K1 debut.

Hard to put into words but how was the whole experience for you? 

The fight was a nice, tough contest with Herman coming out the gates with some hard shots. I just tried to stay composed as under those pressure situations things have a tendency to get sloppy and you use a lot of energy trying to stave off your opponent’s advances. I could see he was wearing down, as was I but I think I had the edge especially as the fight progressed. Late in the 3rd round I managed to tie him up in a clinch and sink some good knees. One clean strike to the head and then one to the body and he was going down. I landed a big straight right just as the referee jumped in to stop the fight, giving me the victory by TKO (technical knockout)

Last question, what are your upcoming plans? 

Well, I have moved to the Eastern Cape recently so even though Cape Town is my home town, I was a tourist here for this fight. It was quite tough isolating myself for a fight camp, not seeing my wife for almost a month now, so the very immediate future just sees me taking a teeny tiny break to unwind and regather but by August I am looking at a 2 month stint living and training in Thailand and then back to Cape Town to prep for a big fight in Hamburg, Germany, against a K-1 world champion in November…

“What an amazing guy. Not just the champ but also a remarkable person. Thanks for the fight and your amazing sportsmanship. It is so awesome to say that i have gained a new friend. Al the best for things to come and all the challenges that you may face in the future.” – Hermanus Jacobus Oberholzer, Karl’s opponent. 

Dead Reckoning is proud to sponsor an all round great guy and a champion athlete. The Dead Reck Crew is looking forward to being part of Karl’s future successes! #InTheCrewWeTrust