Kevin Lerena called Alexander “the face of modern boxing”.
WBC bridgerweight champion Kevin Lerena said that he is ready to defend his title in Ukraine in a fight against the holder of the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO heavyweight titles Oleksandr Usyk.
The 32-year-old South African said this in an interview with World Boxing News.
It should be noted that for Usyk this would be a historic chance to become world champion in three weight categories. Previously, the Ukrainian became the absolute world champion in heavyweight and cruiserweight (weight category up to 90.7 kg).
“Yeah, I would fight Usyk, he beat that guy. He's the face of boxing right now, so I would fight him 100 percent. He can do whatever he wants.
I was supposed to defend my title in Ukraine in February, but the date changed to the end of March, which might not fit with other possible plans because of other offers, but I was never offered a fight with Usyk,” Lerena said.
See also: Fight for the “absolute”, return to the cruiserweight or retirement: Usyk announced plans after victory over Fury
Earlier, Lerena was in talks about a fight with another Ukrainian – the holder of the WBC Silver title in the bridgerweight class, Sergey Radchenko. The South African boxer agreed to fight him in February in Kyiv, but later the fight was postponed until the spring.
Bridgerweight is a weight category of up to 101.6 kg between the cruiserweight and heavyweight classes. It is named after the American Bridger Walker, who at the age of six saved his younger sister from a dog attack. The boy covered his sister with his body, receiving serious injuries. He received 90 stitches on his face. The World Boxing Council (WBC) awarded Bridger a belt and named a new division in his honor.
Recall that Usyk has repeatedly said that he wants to fight at the NSC “Olimpiyskiy” in Kyiv. The last time Alexander boxed in his homeland was in December 2015, when he defended his WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title at the capital's Sports Palace, defeating Cuban Pedro Rodriguez by technical knockout.