History beckons in Lerena's WBC title defence — one way or another

Kevin Lerena gets the chance to put one over local boxing greats Dingaan Thobela and Sugar Boy Malinga when he defends his world title in Pretoria on Thursday night.

The 32-year-old is bidding to become the first South African to successfully defend a World Boxing Council (WBC) crown when he puts his bridgerweight title on the line against Serhiy Randchenko of Ukraine at the Sunbet Arena.

Thobela and Malinga both held the WBC super-middleweight crown, but neither managed to successfully hold on to the belt, losing it in their first defences.

Malinga, a two-time champion, lost the coveted green strap in his first defence on both occasions.

In many comparisons Lerena will finish third against Malinga and Thobela. Apart from their ring artistry, Malinga and Thobela won their titles in the ring. Malinga beat superstar Nigel Benn first time around and Thobela, trailing on points, scored a stunning final-round stoppage to claim the belt.

Lerena was awarded his belt in an email.

In terms of value, the super-middleweight title probably ranks higher than the relatively new bridgerweight division, which has yet to be universally accepted by the four mainstream sanctioning bodies.

But victory this week will lift Lerena to a milestone that neither Malinga nor Thobela achieved. And Lerena, who is on his way to outperforming the other two when it comes to good business sense outside the ring, is the overwhelming favourite to win on Thursday night.

The champion, with 30 wins (14 inside the distance) and three losses, should have too much skill and firepower for Radchenko, who brings a record of 11 victories (5 KOs) and seven losses. In fact, if Radchenko were to upstage Lerena, he would become the weakest challenger in history to dethrone a South African holder of a bona fide world title.

For starters, no South African world champion has lost to a challenger with more than six defeats.

Strawweight Nkosinathi Joyi ceded his IBF title in a sensational upset loss by Mexican Mario Rodriguez, who had 14 wins, six losses and four draws to his name.

Four successful challengers had five losses. Like Joyi, Simphiwe Nonqayi lost his IBF junior-bantamweight belt in Mexico at the hands of Juan Alberto Rosas (31-5) in 2010.

Malinga’s first reign was ended by Italian Vincenzo Nardiello (29-5) in England in 1996 and Mbulelo Botile, a two-division world champion, surrendered his IBF featherweight crown to Frankie Toledo (39-5-1) in the US in 2001.

WBA flyweight champion Peter Mathebula, South Africa’s first black world champion, was the only one of these to lose on home soil, getting stopped by Argentina’s Santos Laciar (38-5-7) at Orlando Stadium in 1981.

Only one challenger has had as few as 11 wins going into a victory over a South African, and that was Hiroto Kyoguchi, who relieved Hekkie Budler of his WBA junior-flyweight title in Macao in 2018 The Japanese warrior was unbeaten at the time, making him the boxer with the fewest bouts to his name going into a successful challenge.

Radchenko, with 18 bouts under his belt, has a few others ahead of him on this count.

Jimmy Carruthers was 14-0 when he stunned Vic Toweel for the undisputed world bantamweight title at the Rand Stadium in 1952.

American Tim Austin was 15-0-1 when he downed Botile for the IBF bantamweight title in 1997.

And Orzubek Nazarov of Kyrgyzstan was 17-0 when he dethroned Thobela at Nasrec in 1993.

For the record, Malinga’s second reign was ended by Richie Woodhall (22-1) in England and Thobela’s by Dave Hilton (39-2-2) in Canada.

One way or another, history will unfold on Thursday night, but the likelihood is it’ll be made by Lerena.

Tickets were still available at TicketPro, said promoter Dewald Mostert.

The tournament will be broadcast live on SuperSport channel 209 from 7pm.