Mark Farah proposes inside the boxing ring

A battle-hardened South African boxer showed his softer side when he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend inside the boxing ring on her birthday a few days ago.

Mark Farah had just defeated Congolese Welcome Malubu over four rounds at Presley's Restaurant in Boksburg and he signaled to his girfriend Sharne Gerhardt‚ who turned 27 years old on the day‚ to join him in the ring.

She made her way to the ring and when she eventually reached him‚ Farah asked the crowd to sing a hearty Happy Birthday for her.

"Thank you very much‚" she sobbed‚ before attempting to leave the ring.

But as Gerhardt was about to leave the ring‚ Farah suddenly got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

"Baby could you marry me?" he asked while holding a beautiful ring in his hands.

"I love you so much."

Gerhardt's tears flowed again as the enormity of what was happening finally dawned on her.

"Oh my God‚ oh my God! Wow‚ wow! Of course baby I will marry you‚" she gasped.

The crowd rose to give the couple an ovation.

No South African boxer had ever proposed in the ring and Farah became the first.

Farah said he kept a tight lid on his plans and his trainer Alan Toweel Junior slipped the ring to him before ring announcer Sipho Mashinini announced the verdict of the Real Steel's Promotion's "Champions of Tomorrow" development fight.

"It was a surprise‚" Farah said.

"All she probably knew was that I was going to mention her birthday in the ring. We've been dating for four years now and we are madly in love."

And would he have continued with his plans if he had lost the fight?

"There was no way I was going to lose the fight‚" Farah said.

"I trained twice as hard I have ever done in my previous fights because I wanted to fight and win this one for her.

"A lot was at stake here.

"Anyway‚ even if I had lost the fight‚ I would have still asked her to marry me because that is what I wanted."

Gerhardt was mobbed by well-wishers at the end of the festivities. "Being called to the ring for my birthday was wonderful and I appreciated it‚" she said.

"I just could not believe it when people started singing for me.

"I was preparing to make my way out of the ring and then he shocked me when he went down on his knees.

"I was like 'Oh my God‚ what is he going to do now?'

"The next moment he took out this ring and asked me to marry him.

"That blew me over.

"I felt I had fainted because I just could not feel myself as I wiped tears off my face.

"That was the best thing to have ever happened to me.

"It was my best moment ever.

"Yes‚ I love him so much and I will marry him."

Briton Nigel "Dark Destroyer" Benn became the first boxer to propose in the ring when he did it at the Telewest Arena‚ Newcastle‚ in the UK‚ after receiving a proper thumping from SA's Thulani "Sugar Boy" Malinga in front of 55 000 English fans in March 1996.

Benn did not let the defeat to Malinga stop him and with lips badly bruised‚ one eye closed completely and dethroned as the WBC super middleweight champion‚ he asked his girlfriend to come up to the ring.

She made her way to the ring and wiped the blood off his face.

The Englishman‚ who was in tears‚ then went down on his knees and asked her to marry him.

She started crying but finally accepted his proposal.