Mariusz Wach is not the type of boxer to give fight fans sleepless nights trying to figure out what master plan Kevin Lerena needs to formulate ahead of his heavyweight contest against the big Pole on Saturday night.
Lerena can take a big step towards a heavyweight world title shot against the experienced Wach at Emperors Palace.
Promoter Rodney Berman is no fool and would not bring a dangerous opponent for Lerena while the former IBO cruiserweight champion is still finding his feet in the heavyweight division.
Saturday night’s contest will only be Lerena’s third in the weight class where Oleksandr “The Cat” Usyk rules with an iron fist. The 35-year-old Ukrainian, who made his name at the expense of Danie Venter, Johnny Muller and Thabiso Mchunu, holds the WBA super, IBF, WBO and IBO titles.
Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury is the WBC champion. Usyk also made his name in the cruiserweight division, where he held all the five world titles to be the undisputed champion and went on to win the World Boxing Super Series to walk away with the Muhammad Ali trophy.
Apart from being a former IBO cruiserweight champion Lerena is a former SA title holder. The 30-year-old left-hander has just moved up a weight division and has already introduced himself in the heavyweight class by annexing the WBA Inter-Continental title in March.
That win earned Lerena recognition from the WBA, which has placed him in the 13th spot in the rankings. The WBC has recognised Lerena with a 29th spot in the rankings, while the IBO has him at 16th.
Berman, the shrewd operator who has been promoting boxing with distinction for over four decades, knows too well how to build a fighter and that is exactly what he is doing with Lerena. From a business perspective, 42-year-old Wach is the perfect opponent for Lerena because the ring veteran from Krakow will ask many questions of Lerena in their fight.
Wach is a journeyman who has absolutely nothing to lose but a lot to gain should he beat the fresh, 30-year-old Lerena. Wach has met some big names in the business — Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Jarrell Miller, Dillian Whyte and Hughie Fury — losing to all of them. But he has beaten the likes of Kevin McBride, who brought to an end the illustrious career of Mike Tyson with a sixth round stoppage on June 11 2005. Wach stopped McBride in four rounds. He has stopped 19 of his 36 victims in 44 fights.
Journeymen are always dangerous. The general impression when a fighter is referred to as a “journeyman” is that they are terrible fighters who turn up, get paid their cheque and go home. In truth, a journeyman is a hungry fighter who can be dangerous if the incentive is good.
So Lerena, with a tight plan and strong execution, should negotiate with Wach while learning valuable lessons.
Also featuring in the Golden Gloves Lights Out tournament on Saturday night is 37-year-old ring veteran Tshifhiwa Muyai, who will put his SA lightweight belt on the line against Lusanda Kmaninsi. It will be Munyai’s fourth defence the championship belt. There will be four more bouts on the card. The action begins at 7pm.
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