“A lot of people have come out and said I shouldn’t be doing it, but I’ve passed all my medical and concussion clinic tests”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

New Zealand opener Jesse Ryder will return to the boxing ring for another amateur bout on March 28 in Christchurch.

Ryder decided to return to the ring after having missed out on being included in New Zealand’s World Cup squad.

Ryder has already made a name for himself in the boxing ring as he knocked out sports radio host Mark Watson in less than two minutes in Auckland in July 2012.

Even though he has challenged former New Zealand batsman Craig McMillan and ex-England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to sparring matches in the past, his next fight will be against blogger Cameron Slater in the Super 8 Cruiserweight tournament.

Ryder revealed that a lot of people have been advising him not to box again due to the severe injuries he sustained when he was assaulted outside a bar in Christchurch in March 2013.

“A lot of people have come out and said I shouldn’t be doing it, but I’ve passed all my medical and concussion clinic tests and had no recurring issues so I’m happy with where I’m at,” Ryder was quoted as saying by Sportal. “If I had issues I wouldn’t have taken the fight.”

Ryder also clarified that he did not sustain a fractured skull as a result of the gruesome assault.

“There were a lot of people saying I had a fractured skull, but there was nothing like that,” he said. “It might have been a minor concussion. My lungs were the main reason I struggled after the incident happened.”