Kevin ‘The KO Kid’ Lerena snapped a two-fight losing streak as he returned to winning ways, defeating Scott Forrest from Edinburgh, Scotland, at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Saturday evening.
All three judges nodded in unison, signalling that Lerena had done enough to win the fight. Duduzile Dlamini and Thando Xamlashe had Lerena winning by 97-92 on their scorecards while Namhla Tyuluba’s scorecard read 98-91.
As a result of the victory over Forrest, Lerena became the new World Boxing Council (WBC) International cruiserweight champion.
The 34-year-old Lerena, a former WBC bridgerweight and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) cruiserweight champion, went on the attack from the first bell and put Forrest under pressure throughout the fight. Hitting with hard punches, Lerena even decked Forrest in the 10th round.
Before meeting the Johannesburg-born Forrest, Lerena had lost to Riyadh Merhy in a clash for the WBC bridgerweight crown and Lawrence Okolie during a WBC Silver heavyweight title contest.
