Dear visitors to my website,

2007 has been a difficult year for me. It all started just before my world championship title fight in Australia: After a sports test there appeared to be some anomalies in my blood. Since I'd gone through a very intensive training programme, however, I decided to take some medicine and travel to Australia to box for a world title in a heavier weight class anyway. After a disappointing defeat I returned to the Netherlands and went straight to see my doctor to find out whether the medicine was doing its job. It wasn't, unfortunately, and I was referred to an internist at the hospital. The tests he conducted were very important to me, as I'd recently signed a contract with the sport's best promoters, Universum Box Promotion in Germany. I couldn1't wait to start boxing in Germany, you see. After some months of waiting, various tests and more medicines, it turned out that I have a form of lymphoma... As you may well imagine, my world fell to pieces and I had some very intensive treatment ahead of me: chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In the end, I coped with the treatment very well. I saw it as a challenge and in retrospect I can certainly compare it to sport at the highest level. The treatment takes you way down until you think you can't go any deeper, but once there, the only way is up and it's good preparation to ultimately return at the top. This is a bit simplistic, but otherwise I'd have to write forever to describe what I've been through and all the emotions I've felt!

But finally I've made it! From the outset, I kept focused on eventually making it back into the ring and I can now proudly announce that I will return to the ring on March 15, 2008. I'll have more information for you soon.

For now I'd like to thank my family, my sponsor and everyone who has supported me over the past year. Your cards, flowers, phone calls, letters and whatnot have all been much appreciated!