JOHANNESBURG — Both challengers for the SA title stakes at the Young Guns Box ’n Dine, walked away from the bright lights of Emperors Palace with the championship belts.
In the two best fight displays of the night, Grant Fourie snagged the SA junior welterweight title and Kevin Lerena, took the SA cruiserweight title.
Lerena’s search for the SA cruiserweight championship title proved to be successful when he challenged hometown favourite Deon Coetzee. In the card-topping fight of the Young Guns tournament, Lerena, who in 12 bouts only suffered one defeat to Johnny Muller, managed to outbox Coetzee on points over the full distance of twelve rounds for his 12th win in 13 bouts. Lerena’s superiority was reflected in the judges’ scorecards of 117-111, 118-110 and 117-110.
Alberton boxer Warren Joubert and Grant Fourie, who trains in the South under Harold Volbrecht, clashed in an eagerly awaited 12-round bout for the SA junior welterweight championship title. The bout went the full distance with a brilliant performance by Fourie who lifted his game in a big way and who despite his long illness, showed his skills with his 16th win in 24 bouts. Boxing fans can eagerly await his next fight.
Florentia resident, Dowayne Combrink’s scheduled middleweight bout was cancelled and replaced by the DJ Kriel vs. Thabo Moabi encounter in the junior flyweight division. The bout went to six rounds but not before Kriel planted a TKO two minutes and 47 seconds into the last round.
In the other two fights on the Young Guns bill, Lodumo Lamati from the Eastern Cape, who is trained by Nic Durand and Cebo Ngema from Kagiso, drew in a bantam weight contest over six rounds. After four bouts in the debutant match-up, Fernando Rodriques achieved a points victory over Nigerian boxer, Christiaan Okeke.
