South African great Dingaan Thobela says his countryman Kevin Lerena, 28-1(14) can go in and score the upset win over Daniel Dubois when the two fight on December 3, and with the win, Lerena will “bring back the buzz to South Africa” as far as boxing is concerned. Thobela, who was a two-time lightweight champion and a super-middleweight champ, spoke with Sowetan Live and he said Dubois is “not a clever fighter.”
It’s possible not too many UK fight fans know too much about Lerena, who has moved up from cruiserweight, where he picked up his sole loss (a decision loss way back in 2014), to then campaign at heavyweight, where he is currently 3-0(2). Dubois, 18-1(17) is a significant favourite going into the fight that will take place on the under card of Tyson Fury’s third waltz with Derek Chisora.
But Thobela says “Two Guns,” as southpaw Lerena is known, can upset Dubois just as long as he believes in himself.
“Kevin can upset Dubois if he goes in there trusting himself and his skillset,” Thobela said. “Dubois is not one of the top dogs in the heavyweight division based on what I saw of him against Joe Joyce, he is not a clever fighter. I am rooting for Kevin to win so that there is a buzz again about South Africa, like when Corrie Sanders won the WBO heavyweight world title. Look, the size could work in favour of Kevin in terms of speed because he is smaller coming from the cruiserweights compared to fully fledged heavyweights.”
It may well prove to be a most interesting fight on December 3, perhaps more competitive than the main event, which has of course been much maligned. It might be a stretch comparing Lerena to Corrie Sanders, however. Sanders, a southpaw like Lerena, smashed Wladimir Klitschko in just two rounds back in March of 2003. That was a big moment for South African heavyweight boxing, and even a similar result scored by Lerena over Dubois would not top it.
Still, it would be an upset nonetheless if Lerena stopped Dubois. Lerena is certainly coming to the UK to win. I wonder how much Dubois knows about Lerena, how much he has seen of him on film? Is an upset on the cards here?