Kevin helps in the street and bruises in the ring
● When Kevin Lerena is not scrambling the brains of an opponent, he’s a medic assisting stricken victims on the streets of Johannesburg.
Both give him great satisfaction, but on Saturday night Lerena will look to inflict damage when he defends his IBO cruiserweight title against hard-hitting Roman Golovashchenko in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“It’s out of my comfort zone, but I’m happy to test myself,” said Lerena, who flies out today. “You have to step out of your comfort zone to evolve and it’s my time to evolve.”
For someone with no amateur experience, the 26-year-old is looking to improve his skills with every fight. As a professional he has 20 wins, with eight stoppages, and a single defeat and is unfazed by the challenger’s record of 19-1, with 17 KOs.
“The guys I beat are big-calibre fighters, they’re not garbage cans . . . It shows my ring IQ is up there with them.”
In shock
Trainer Peter Smith says the key is staying ahead of the opponents and always bringing something new.
“That’s why we’ve never been the same for every fight. Even [Dmytro] Kucher [Lerena’s last opponent], they were apparently laughing in camp at what they were going to do to Kevin.
“They were making jokes in the gym how they’re going to knock Kevin out. But the funny thing was, when Kucher got in there, you saw his face, he was in shock.”
Lerena, a partner in a family horseracing business, volunteers as a tactical medic.
“You’re armed, you attend shootings . . . to protect your teams, the paramedics around you, that they have a safe environment to work in. That’s the main priority.
“And sometimes treating yourself, because sometimes you get there first. I love it . . . That’s my way of giving back.”
Father-of-two Lerena — who wanted to be a jockey, like his cousin Gavin, before he grew too big — is clear about his goals.
“Boxing is a dangerous sport . . . I don’t want to overstay my welcome, so I think by the age of 30 I look to be a unified champion of the world.”