‘Big fight’ awaits Kevin Lerena after easy KO in WBC title defence

KEVIN Lerena is spending a restful weekend in Sun City as he anticipates his 33rd birthday on Monday, his standing as South African boxing’s golden boy still intact.

‘Two Guns’ gave himself the perfect pre-birthday gift on Thursday night by making a successful maiden defence of his WBC bridgerweight title, courtesy of a superb third-round TKO of Ukrainian challenger Serhiy Radchenko at the Sunbet Arena in Pretoria.

And while a second defence is no doubt what’s next in line, those thoughts will be far removed from his mind at least for the next week.

His coach Pete Smith said immediately after the fight that there are plans for a “huge fight” soon as they celebrated a victory that once again illustrated Lerena’s boxing skills and punching power.

“During the period of being absent (Lerena had not fought for 14 months), I said to Kevin, ‘You have to make a statement because the world is watching’. And they saw a true champion tonight.”

A fight that had been anticipated to be evenly-fought, given Radchenko’s standing as the silver champion of the division, quickly degenerated into a no-contest as the South African smashed the challenger to the canvas with a left hook in the second round.

There was a second knockdown shortly thereafter as Lerena pummelled Radchenko, clearly looking for an early night.

The bell saved the Ukrainian, but the champion fell on him like a ton of bricks at the start of the third, and his corner came to his rescue by throwing in the towel.

Smith said while it would have been grand for his boxer to get a few rounds to help rid himself of the ring rustiness, they were not going to risk things.

“A fight is a fight. The danger is always at bay. We could not take a chance. We’ve been working on those precise movements that brought about this result.

“And now we are looking at having a big fight after this.”

Such is Lerena’s popularity that the Arena was packed by a vociferous crowd that chanted his name and sang “Go Kevin Lerena” to drown out the ring announcer as he introduced the fighters.

Typically, some part of the crowd booed when Radchenko’s name was called out, and the roof went off as though the South African had already won.

You knew he was ready to rumble when he sang heartily to the national anthem, raising his hands up at the end of it as if in victory.

And he got that victory alright, Lerena scoring a sensational stoppage in what was a historic first ever WBC world title defence by a South African on home soil.

“I told you, 14 months no fighting. They were taking food off my kids’ table, but when I turn up, I’m going to beat anyone,” Lerena said.

“It’s an absolute honour. The biggest champions – the late Dingaan Thobela, Sugarboy Malinga – are so good to be mentioned along with those legends,” he said afterwards in reference to South Africans who held WBC world titles.

Turning only 33 on Monday, there can be no denying that Lerena has the time to achieve enough success in the ring to elevate himself to the status of South African boxing legend.