Winning has gotten me to where I am today, says Kevin Lerena ahead of his WBC bridgerweight title defense.

The 32-year-old, the first ever bridgerweight to come out of the African continent, will go up against Ukraine’s Serhiy Radchenko at the Sunbet Times Square Arena in Pretoria at the start of May in what will be his first defense after being awarded the title with English fighter Lawrance Okolie relinquishing it to pursue his heavyweight dreams.

The then interim bridgerweight holder Lerena assumed the title and in a career that started without any amateur background, he has defied all the odds and he is currently the flag-bearer of South African boxing and a lot will rely on his upcoming fight against the Ukrainian international.

Lerena has been amongst the standout boxers in recent years in a sport that is considered to be on a downward spiral; his participation in the bridgerweight and heavyweight divisions has given hope to the masses that boxing can once again become a hugely followed sport in the country.

Lerena had a sniff at defeating current IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, sending him to the mat on three occasions before the Englishman roared back into the fight to win on a technical knockout in the third round in December 2022.

He credits the cruiserweight division, where he successfully defended the IBO title in that division on seven occasions.

And he also took a lot of lessons from high-profile fights with the likes of Dubois and also his loss against heavyweight Justis Huni as the stepping stones that have helped him be where he is today and believes a lot of his development came in the cruiserweight division.

“Essentially it was the cruiserweight division  that helped me, because I defended the world title seven times there, then I got a shot at Daniel Dubois for the WBA World Title, and then we came down to bridgerweight. Lerena told the Independent Media.

“Winning and winning well have got me to where I am today. Boxing is a sport that is very fickle; one minute you’re up and the next you're down but how you win is very important, so the cruiserweight sort of jetted me to the heavyweight limelight and then, losing to Dubois,  people said that this guy is real and a legitimate fighter.

“That pushed my share price up as a fighter and it led me to the bridgerweight shot, so everything just washed up into one another and that is how boxing is: you are as good as your last fight and you must make sure you’re exciting.”

The Johannesburg-born fighter has had to make a lot of adjustments to fit into other divisions.

“I have had to drop weight to be a cruiserweight because naturally I am a 100kg fighter, so I am always going to be a smaller heavyweight but I don’t add weight on because that would be to my disadvantage. He continued.

“To make cruiserweight was very hard because I had to cut a lot of weight but bridgerweight  is almost the perfect fit, but I will always be considered a small heavyweight, so I do not put on weight because that is not good.”

The 32-year-old was high in praise of the work that has been done by the new boxing committee and minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie and he believes that the sport is on the upward curve in the country, and he is happy to be the face of it.

“I do not think the sport is dying; I believe it's on a meteoric rise, and I believe I am at the forefront of that. And with the new board and minister McKenzie shuffling things and making things great with a regulator boxing South Africa, I think we are in the right direction and we need to be positive.

“I am an optimist and not a pessimist and too much negativity doesn't go anywhere; it becomes clutter, so for me, I am optimistic that with the new board and the regulator BSA and people on the forefront leading the sport are also what make it great and it's now up to us and I am at the forefront of it, and I believe boxing is on the rise.”

There will be an impressive lineup of undercard fighters, including the current IBO welterweight champion, Tulani Mbenge.

“There are a few good fighters in the undercard.” Lerena continued 

“Current world champion Tulani Mbenge and Thabiso Mchunu have fought for the world titles, and they are guys that have credible names within the world of boxing and it's nice to see them getting an opportunity to fight again.”

Mbenge will be defending his IBO welterweight title against Rilliwan Babatunde at the same venue and he looks forward to the bout with the Nigerian fighter.

“I am getting ready for the fight and I want to give people an explosive bout and I feel ready. Mbenge told the Independent Media.

The 33-year-old got into boxing because he never shied away from a fight and he was introduced to the sport by a school teacher that saw some potential in him 

“I started boxing when I was still young. I used to fight a lot when I was still in school; there was even a point when I wanted to join the rugby team but my teacher didn't allow me to because I was fighting a lot.

“Most of the time I was fighting bullies and he forced me to join boxing.”

Mbenge won his last two fights against Great Britain's Michael McKinson and Argentine fighter Leandro Fonseca and he believes that every fight has its importance and he is fully focused on the upcoming bout and he has taken a lot of confidence from those and some other recent fights.

“Every fight you go to in boxing is very crucial because you have to win and when you win your value goes up. You triple your worth every time you do so.

“ For me, going into the fight, I go in knowing that my opponent is going to want to upset me because I am a world champion and it is very important for me to show people that I am on a competitive level.

“We went overseas last year for a fight, and we dominated that fight. It is believed that when you go overseas, you need to dominate the fight and even knock your opponent out, as there is not a lot of fairness, but I went there, dominated and came back with the win and that is what I plan to do against my opponent in this upcoming fight.