Will the grace of the month of May smile on Kevin Lerena?
In Christianity, May is historically celebrated as the “Month of Mary”, emphasising virtues like humility and grace.
In numerology and various esoteric traditions, the number five represents grace, balance, and human ascension.
The significance in the life of Lerena is that the left-handed, two-weight world boxing champion was born on May 5 1992. This former IBO cruiserweight world champ won the vacant WBC Silver bridgerweight title on May 13 2023.
Lerena − who goes by the ring name “Two Guns” − was crowned WBC bridgerweight world champion on October 8 2024. He became the first African to win that belt in a weight division created in 2020 by WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman to cater for small heavyweights.
It is a weight division between the cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Lerena successfully defended it on May 1 last year via a third-round stoppage of Ukrainian Serhiy Radchenko at SunBet Arena in Pretoria. He will put his belt on the line on May 30 at the Hall des Expositions in Charleroi, Belgium.
His dance partner on Saturday is Ryad Merhy, in what will be their second meeting inside the roped square. Lerena defeated the Ivorian-born Belgian-French and former WBA regular cruiserweight world champ at Emperors Palace.
With former heavyweight top contender Peter Smith honing his skills, Lerena is looking for a definitive stoppage in enemy territory.
He has made an impression in the heavyweight division, where he won the WBA and IBO Inter-Continental titles. He lost to Daniel Dubois for the WBA regular heavyweight belt in 2022 despite dropping the Englishman three times in the first round.
Two years later, Lerena lost to Australian Justis Huni for the WBO Global heavyweight title at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8.
On the other hand, Merhy, who fights out of Brussels, became the first male Belgian professional boxer to capture a major world title − the WBA cruiserweight belt − in 2021.
Seven months after losing to Lerena, Merhy chalked up a points win over 10 rounds against Tony Yoka − a former European Union heavyweight champion from France.
On April 13 last year, Merhy lost to Jared “The Real Big Bay” Anderson, a former North American Boxing Federation heavyweight champion from Toledo, Ohio, in the US.
That defeat was Merhy’s third against 32 wins, with 26 knockouts.
The fight between Lerena and 33 year-old Merhy will be broadcast live by SuperSport on DStv channel 209.
Sowetan
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.