Lerena retains his IBO world title

Lerena dominated the fight and the result was never in doubt against an opponent who rarely troubled him, but exhibited solid defensive skills to hold off the South African for the full 12 rounds.

June 13, 2019

Trevor Cramer 1 minute read

Covering up - Czech challenger Vasil Ducar shoulders arms as champion Kevin Lerena tries to prize open his defence during their IBO cruiserweight world title bout at Emperors Palace. Lerena successfully retained his title.

The popular cruiserweight draw card Kevin Lerena (23-1-10 KO) successfully defended his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) world title for a fourth time with a unanimous points victory over Czech challenger Vasil Ducar in the headline bout of Golden Gloves’ KO Kings tournament at Emperors Palace on June 8.

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The Box and Dine event featured six bouts.

• Junior bantamweight Ricardo Malajika, who fights out of Anton Gilmore’s Box Office Gym in the south of Johannesburg, landed a classic body punch to stop Arnel Lubisi in the opening round of a scheduled six-rounder.

Ricardo Malijika (left) launches a body assault on Arnel Lubisi during their junior bantamweight contest. Picture: Nick Lourens

• In the middleweight division, Aidan Quin took another step towards building his fledgeling professional record via a third-round stoppage of fellow one-fight rookie Pieter de Klerk.

Aidan Quin (right) mixing it with his opponent Pieter de Kerk during their middleweight bout. Picture: Nick Lourens

• Up-and-coming cruiserweight Keaton Gomes, a stablemate of IBO champ Lerena, stretched his unbeaten run to 6-0 with a majority decision over Amador Kalonji, who originally hails from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cruiserweight Keaton Gomes (left) tries to open up Amador Kalonji during their six-round bout at Emperors Palace. Picture: Nick Lourens

• Unbeaten middleweight prospect Boyd Allen never had it his own way against the tough, rugged Kazak journeyman Alexandr Zuravskiy, who was off three defeats on the bounce, and had to settle for a majority draw.

Kazak visitor Aleksandra Zhuravkiy lands a solid jab on the jaw of Boyd Allen during their drawn clash in the junior middleweight division on the KO Kings undercard at Emperors Palace. Picture: Nick Lourens

• Trainer Sebastiaan Rothmann’s unbeaten charge, Jabulani Makhense, stretched his unbeaten run to 8-0 with a unanimous decision over Michael Mokoena, to retain his World Boxing Association (WBA) Pan-African junior welterweight strap.