Kevin “2 Guns” Lerena remains ambitious of winning a world boxing title in the heavyweight division, which is the most glamorous of all 17 weight classes in boxing.
The former SA and IBO cruiserweight champion missed his first attempt by a whisker in December. He dropped WBA champ Daniel Dubois three times in round one but was in turn stopped in the third round.
Lerena’s efforts in front of about 90,000 English fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England earned him about R8m.
He defended the IBO cruiserweight belt six times. His earnings per fight were good but came nowhere near what he earned for that one fight against the Englishman.
In boxing, the heavyweight division is where the real money lies. George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield raked in millions of dollars as heavyweight world champions. Foreman is reported to have earned $335m, Tyson $455m and Holyfield $310m during their illustrious careers.
It should be noted that the three of them are from another era compared to the past two decades, where multiple-weight world champ Floyd Mayweather Junior – who was physically not big enough to get into heavyweight division – is reported to be the highest paid boxer in history, with earnings of $1.41bn.
Lerena now wants to win the WBC’s newly established bridgerweight belt. That weight division was established by that organisation’s president Mauricio Sulaiman in 2020. It is a weight class between the heavyweight and the cruiserweights.
Lerena will face Belgium-based Ivorian Ryad Merhy in their elimination bout at Emperors Palace on May 13. .
The winner will earn the bragging rights to challenge for the vacant WBC bridgerweight belt.
“I am here to get back to winning ways in impeccable fashion and go on to become the WBC bridgerweight world champion – the third WBC champion from SA,” Lerena says.
The others are Thulani Malinga and Dingaan Thobela. Co-incidentally they both held the WBC super middleweight belt, but Malinga was the South African boxer first to achieve that feat.
“Hopefully we will then get a massive heavyweight world title shot again – we know the glamour is the heavyweight division and that’s where the money is. At the end of the day I want to spoil my family,” said Lerena, who welcomed his second son two weekends ago.
Lerena, who has three children, turns 31 tomorrow.
He has lost twice in 30 fights.
Lerena still has his eye on heavyweight world title
SA boxer first wants to win the WBC’s newly established bridgerweight belt
Kevin “2 Guns” Lerena remains ambitious of winning a world boxing title in the heavyweight division, which is the most glamorous of all 17 weight classes in boxing.
The former SA and IBO cruiserweight champion missed his first attempt by a whisker in December. He dropped WBA champ Daniel Dubois three times in round one but was in turn stopped in the third round.
Lerena’s efforts in front of about 90,000 English fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England earned him about R8m.
He defended the IBO cruiserweight belt six times. His earnings per fight were good but came nowhere near what he earned for that one fight against the Englishman.
In boxing, the heavyweight division is where the real money lies. George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield raked in millions of dollars as heavyweight world champions. Foreman is reported to have earned $335m, Tyson $455m and Holyfield $310m during their illustrious careers.
It should be noted that the three of them are from another era compared to the past two decades, where multiple-weight world champ Floyd Mayweather Junior – who was physically not big enough to get into heavyweight division – is reported to be the highest paid boxer in history, with earnings of $1.41bn.
Lerena now wants to win the WBC’s newly established bridgerweight belt. That weight division was established by that organisation’s president Mauricio Sulaiman in 2020. It is a weight class between the heavyweight and the cruiserweights.
Lerena will face Belgium-based Ivorian Ryad Merhy in their elimination bout at Emperors Palace on May 13. .
The winner will earn the bragging rights to challenge for the vacant WBC bridgerweight belt.
“I am here to get back to winning ways in impeccable fashion and go on to become the WBC bridgerweight world champion – the third WBC champion from SA,” Lerena says.
The others are Thulani Malinga and Dingaan Thobela. Co-incidentally they both held the WBC super middleweight belt, but Malinga was the South African boxer first to achieve that feat.
“Hopefully we will then get a massive heavyweight world title shot again – we know the glamour is the heavyweight division and that’s where the money is. At the end of the day I want to spoil my family,” said Lerena, who welcomed his second son two weekends ago.
Lerena, who has three children, turns 31 tomorrow.
He has lost twice in 30 fights.