Kevin Lerena will fight as planned on the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard on Friday night despite the tragic passing of his mother.
The South African fighter, who has also been helping Tyson Fury train for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk later this year, is part of the âKnockout Chaosâ card in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, taking on Justis Huni.
On Thursday morning, the 31-year-old shared the tragic news of his motherâs death, vowing to fight on in her memory.
âToday I lost strongest woman I have ever known,â he wrote on Twitter. âMy mom fought tirelessly as a single mom to raise us, and her strength and determination will forever inspire me.
âEven in her final moments she fought until the very end, she fought with all her might. Mom, I love you, I will carry on your warrior spirit.
âTomorrow night, I WILL FIGHT in your honour because you were a LION and you raised a LION.
âYour fight lives on in me, and I will always carry your strength with me. Rest peacefully in Godâs kingdomâ.
Lerena has won 30 of his 32 professional fights, coming up against Daniel Dubois in December 2022.
The South African knocked Dubois down three times during three wild rounds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the Londoner came back to claim a dramatic knockout victory.
Since then, he has secured victories over Ryad Merhy and Senad Gashi â the latter seeing him crowned the WBCâs interim bridgerweight champion in the new division established by the sanctioning body.
Earlier this year, he was invited to join Furyâs training camp alongside the likes of Moses Itauma and Jai Opetaia in Saudi Arabia in preparation for The Gypsy Kingâs historic undisputed title showdown with Usyk.
Like Usyk, Lerena is a southpaw fighter who also competed at cruiserweight before moving up.
That fight was postponed at the start of February when Fury suffered a serious cut above his eye. Fury vs Usyk is now scheduled to take place on 18 May.Â
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