'Big fight' awaits Lerena after KO in WBC 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.

- MATSHELANE MAMABOLO

‘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.”