Palesa Manaleng20 July 2025 | 12:25

Kevin Lerena outboxed by Britain's Lawrence Okolie at Wembley

Okolie held a world title at cruiserweight before stepping up to bridgerweight to take the WBC crown.

Kevin Lerena outboxed by Britain's Lawrence Okolie at Wembley

Britain's Lawrence Okolie (R) and South African Kevin Lerena fight during their WBC Silver heavyweight championship bout at Wembley Stadium in London on July 19, 2025. Picture: Adrian Dennis / AFP.

JOHANNESBURG – Kevin Lerena was outboxed by Lawrence Okolie at the Wembley Arena in London on Saturday night, losing a lopsided unanimous decision.


British boxer Okolie passed his most significant test at heavyweight, comfortably outpointing Kevin Lerena over 10 rounds.

READ: Kevin Lerena to defend WBC bridgerweight title against Ukraine’s Serhiy Radchenko

The former WBO cruiserweight champion extended his record to 22-1 (16 KOs) with a unanimous decision win (100-90 x2, 99-91) in a bout where his physical advantages – height, reach, and weight – did the bulk of the work.


While Lerena, the WBC bridgerweight champion, dropped to 31-4.

Okolie held a world title at cruiserweight before stepping up to bridgerweight to take the WBC crown.

He was supposed to defend against Lerena, but vacated that belt to step up to heavyweight.

Lerena was awarded the title in a boardroom decision, but this fight was an unofficial opportunity to underline his status as champion.

The win will entrench Okolie’s claim as a contender to the world heavyweight title.


As a heavyweight campaigning internationally, Lerena has lost three out of three abroad, having been stopped in 2022 by Englishman Daniel Dubois and outpointed by Australian Justis Huni in 2024.