Kevin Lerena all geared up to face Lawrence Okolie in heavyweight showdown

KEVIN LERENA is ‘ready to rumble’ and Lawrence Okolie better be prepared for the toughest night of his fighting career.

The darling of South African boxing makes a return to the heavyweight division a much smarter, stronger and hungrier fighter than he was when he traded punches with Daniel Dubois and ended on the bottom of his pants.

Currently the WBC bridgerweight champion, Lerena will next Saturday contest the WBC Silver Heavyweight title against the explosive Okolie who - like the South African – previously held the cruiserweight world championship.

The fight will be on the undercard of the second installment of the Ulsyk and Dubois battle for the undisputed world heavyweight title at London’s Wembley Stadium.

"Two Guns", as Lerena is affectionately known, leaves for England today in high spirits he will bring back the title.

“I’m ready, we’ve done all the work we can and I am in the best possible shape and all that’s left is to go out there and execute,” Lerena said during a telephonic interview.

He knows he’s in for one helluva fight though.

“He’s a solid guy,” he said of Okolie. “He has just one loss and a good knockout ratio (16 of his 21 victories were within the distance).

"So I know it is a tough competition; the guy has Olympic pedigree and he has just come off a good victory in his last fight.

"He is a former Cruiserweight champion like myself and we both want to be heavyweight champs. So, it is a crossroads and we now have to fight.”

And fighting is something Lerena does very well. While for this fight the stats would seem to favour Okolie who is heavier, has a bigger reach and a higher knockout ratio, the man they fondly refer to as Two Guns has sent many such to sleep in the past. And he intends to do exactly the same to Okolie.

"Looking at his resume, he’s only fought one name which you can put a cross to - and he lost that one. Chris William Smith is the only big name he has fought. ’I am no stranger to the big stages and no stranger to the big names. But on the night all that is irrelevant, let’s see how it goes.”

Lerena, as he always does for all his fights, is planning an early night.

“I’ve gotta go in there and maul him. It has to be a knockout. I can’t go in there trying to outbox a very good boxer. I need to be explosive. I am not going in there to win a boxing match against a guy who is six-foot-six and has a long jab and a long right hand. I have to dim his lights.”

From a young age, Lerena has dreamt of being a world champion, inspired as he was by seeing the likes of Corrie Sanders shining on the sport’s biggest stage.

“This is an opportunity to put myself on the biggest stage in the world. This is my chance to realize the dreams I nursed as a young man.”

And he is not going to let it pass him by. He learnt from his defeat by Dubois three years ago when he knocked his adversary three times in the first round only to be knocked out in the third.

“For me it is purely due to the will and the desire, this is where I was destined to be, the big glare of the sport of boxing is in the heavyweights and I want it.”

Though talented, Lerena has worked very hard on his craft – hence the success he has enjoyed. And unlike many boxers or sportsmen in general, the success has not made him lazy or big-headed. Far from it, it has made him work all the harder to stay up there.

 “I live a clean life, and when it comes to work ethic and dedication, no one can beat me. Also, the opportunities I’ve been given, I’ve not squandered.”

And he is not intending to squander this one coming up at Wembley next weekend.