“My Performance Tonight Isn’t Based on the Loss of My Mom”: Kevin Lerena Makes No Excuses in Honor of His Late Mother After Losing on Joshua vs. Ngannou Undercard

It’s never easy to lose a family member. However, it gets even harder when it happens days away from the biggest moment of one’s life. On Thursday, Kevin Lerena shared on social media that his mother had sadly passed away unexpectedly. However, that did not deter the brave boxer from doing what he had to do.

In the undercard of Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua, Lerena took on Justis Huni in a ten-round long battle for the vacant WBO Global heavyweight title. While Lerena put on quite a show by hurting Huni a few times, he lost the fight via unanimous decision in the end. However, ‘The KO Kid’ didn’t make any excuses tonight at Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia, for his loss.

Kevin Lerena doesn’t want to take away from Huni’s win

Speaking to a representative from DAZN after the fight had ended, Lerena thanked all the promoters and the organizers for putting on the spectacular night. Meanwhile, turning to his loss, the 31-year-old claimed, “There is no such thing as good timing when somebody dies, you know. So, emotionally, it was tough. But you can’t take away the credit from this young man. He is a tough competitor.”

Lerena felt he had hurt Huni in the first, second, and tenth rounds but thought he should have finished the job. Despite that, Lerena congratulated his opponent for coming out as the better fighter. Moreover, upon reflecting on his loss, Lerena claimed, “It has been challenging but no excuses. My performance tonight isn’t based on the loss of my mom. I came out here in my mom’s honor. So, thank you very much, everybody,” said Lerena. With that out of the way, here’s a look at Lerena’s impressive career.

The 30-3 ‘The KO Kid’

Before Huni, Lerena appeared in the ring against Senad Gashi in November last year. He won that fight via unanimous decision to break his opponent’s long winning streak. It was just the second win for Lerena after losing his second career bout against Daniel Dubois. However, even in that fight, the South African boxer managed to impress people.

Also Read: Kevin Lerena to Fight in His Mother’s “Honour” on Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou Undercard After Her Saddening Demise

Facing Dubois, Lerena dropped Dubois three different times in the very first round. Alas, Dubois picked up the pace in the later rounds and won the fight via stoppage in the third round of their fight back in December 2022 in England. His first loss, however, came at the hands of Johnny Muller back in 2014 via unanimous decision.

Despite going through unbelievable turmoil in his personal life, Kevin Lerena put on a brave face to do his duty in the ring tonight. And for that, he won every heart present in the stadium. What did you think about his fight tonight? Would you like to see him in the ring again? 

Read More: After Mother’s Passing, Emotional Kevin Lerena Fights His Heart out en Route to Heartbreaking Loss Against Justis Huni