Six years away, ten rounds back as Lerena wins cruiserweight title

A tenth-round knockdown capped Kevin Lerena’s return to cruiserweight in Sandton, where three stoppages earned fighters a combined R65 000 in Knockout Clock bonuses.

With less than a minute left in the tenth round, Kevin “Two Guns” Lerena sent Scott Forrest to the canvas. Forrest got back to his feet and made it to the final bell, but all three judges had Lerena ahead. The unanimous decision gave the South African the vacant WBC International cruiserweight title on Saturday, 7 November, in front of a sold-out Sandton Convention Centre at Aquila Boxing Promotions’ Knockout Chaos 3: The Return.

Lerena pressed Forrest from the opening bell. Judges Duduzile Dlamini and Thando Xamlashe each scored the bout 97–92, while Namhla Tyuluba had it 98–91, all in Lerena’s favour. Forrest, who was born in Johannesburg and represented Scotland at two Commonwealth Games, made Lerena work through all ten rounds. Afterwards, Lerena credited Forrest’s amateur experience and said patience was essential against a boxer who gave him few openings.

It was Lerena’s first fight at cruiserweight since 2020. In the intervening years, the former IBO cruiserweight world champion competed at heavyweight and held the WBC world title at bridgerweight. At 34, he is back in the 90.7 kg division where he won his first world title.

Three stoppages earn R65 000 in Knockout Clock bonuses

Simnikiwe Bongco beat Sivenathi Nolawu in the opening junior middleweight bout. In the second fight, Gauteng junior lightweight champion Tumelo “Slow Poison” Mphahlele stopped Msawakhe “King Kong” Mncwabe one minute and 19 seconds into the opening round of their scheduled six-round contest. Mphahlele, who trains under Sean Smith at Smith’s Gym, earned a R30 000 Knockout Clock bonus backed by Cordiguard and LBE Logistics.

Zimbabwe’s Tendai “Big Tendai” Sinakoma went the full six rounds with South Africa’s Bonginkosi “Malume” Nhlapo and won their catchweight bout by unanimous decision. KC Pinnacle, in association with Veloce, and Nasty ENRG backed the bout’s Knockout Clock.

Jason “El Rey” Medi stopped Douglas “The Congo Crusher” Ntounta 54 seconds into the fifth round of their scheduled eight-round super middleweight bout. The technical knockout earned Medi a R10 000 Knockout Clock bonus backed by Tigris by Discovery and Heerschop Pienaar.

In the fifth bout, 19-year-old South African prospect Leo “The Chosen One” Careri stopped 36-year-old Jackson “El Jaguar” Masamba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo one minute and 52 seconds into round two. Careri’s technical knockout in the scheduled six-round catchweight contest earned him a R25 000 Knockout Clock bonus backed by Parque and Advanced Fire Suppression Technologies.

Fellow South Africans Jarred Silverman and SD Pypers finally met in the junior middleweight co-main event after months of public exchanges and a postponement. Silverman was declared the winner after a finish that drew debate in Sandton.

Lerena returned to the 200-pound division with a third world title in mind. Against Forrest, he had ten rounds to see how he measured up after six years away from cruiserweight. He left Sandton with the WBC International belt and a first win on the road back to world-title contention.