A lacklustre Kevin Lerena was comprehensively outboxed by Englishman Lawrence Okolie at the Wembley Arena in London on Saturday night, losing a lopsided unanimous decision.
Two judges didn’t give Lerena a round, scoring the bout a perfect 100-90 for Okolie, while the third gave the South African one round at 99-91.
Okolie’s record improved to 22 wins and one defeat, while Lerena, the WBC bridgerweight champion, dropped to 31-4.
As a heavyweight campaigning internationally, Lerena has lost three out of three abroad, having been stopped in 2022 by Englishman Daniel Dubois and outpointed by Australian Justis Huni in 2024. Dubois was destroyed in the fifth round by brilliant Oleksandr Usyk in the main bout at Wembley, a heavyweight unification contest.
Lerena was never in trouble against Okolie, but he surely went to the ring with more than survival on his mind.
Okolie controlled the first round, pressing the action against a fighter who looked tentative and seldom initiating the action.
The Englishman landed decent shots to the body and the head, giving Lerena a taste of his power.
Okolie’s jab frequently threaded Lerena’s high-handed defence and his right cross found his opponent’s stomach with alarming regularity.
Coach Peter Smith quickly picked up on his charge’s early failures, telling him to move, especially his head, but Lerena still seemed unable to convert the advice into action, standing on the outside and waiting for Okolie to attack.
Lerena offered glimpses of his potential as he flashed his southpaw left at Okolie’s head, but they were too seldom.
Late in the eighth round Lerena finally showed head movement on attack, but his attempt was thwarted by the bell.
Lerena tried stepping up the action in the final two rounds, but while he landed some nice shots, it wasn’t enough to derail the momentum Okolie had built up.
Okolie was taller, heavier and on the night too skilful for a man he was supposed to meet at bridgerweight.
Like Lerena, Okolie held a world title at cruiserweight before stepping up to bridgerweight to take the WBC crown.
He was supposed to defend against Lerena, but vacated that belt to step up to heavyweight.
Lerena was awarded the title in a boardroom decision, but this fight was an unofficial opportunity to underline his status as champion.
The win will entrench Okolie’s claim as a contender to the world heavyweight title.
Lerena, 33, will have to decide whether to keep trying his luck at heavyweight, or focus on the bridgerweight title, or perhaps even settle for his newest role as a boxing promoter.
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