After making South African boxing history, fighting in front of 90,000 people at Wembley and creating a new platform for local fighters, Kevin Lerena has been nominated for Sportsman of the Year at the 19th annual SA Sport Awards.
Johannesburg, South Africa, 14 August 2026 – There are years in an athlete’s career that are measured in wins and losses. Then there are years that fundamentally change what that athlete represents.
For South African boxer Kevin Lerena, 2025 was the latter.
The former IBO cruiserweight world champion and WBC bridgerweight world champion has been named a nominee for Sportsman of the Year at the 19th annual South African Sport Awards, recognition that comes after a year in which Lerena made history inside the ring while beginning to build something beyond his own fighting career.
“To be recognised amongst South Africa’s finest sportsmen is an honour in itself,” says Lerena.
But the nomination represents more than another accolade for the Johannesburg fighter.
In 2025, Lerena became the first South African boxer to successfully defend a WBC world title, doing so in front of 7,600 supporters on home soil.
Then he did something that has defined much of his career: he took a risk.
Lerena stepped up to heavyweight and travelled to London to challenge for the WBC Heavyweight Silver Title at Wembley Stadium, competing in front of approximately 90,000 spectators on one of boxing’s biggest stages.
He ultimately fell short on points, but for Lerena, the willingness to step outside of what was comfortable mattered.
“I dared to challenge myself on one of the biggest stages in world boxing,” he says. “I’ve always believed that if you want to find out how far you can go, you have to be prepared to take those opportunities.”
Yet arguably the most significant part of Lerena’s 2025 happened away from his own fights.
Building something bigger than himself
During the year, Lerena launched Aquila Boxing Promotions, moving from fighter to promoter with a clear ambition: to help create more opportunities for South African boxing and the fighters coming through behind him.
In its first year, ABP promoted four boxing events.
All four sold out.
All four were broadcast live on SuperSport.
For Lerena, however, the numbers only tell part of the story.
“Boxing has given me so much,” he says. “I wanted to create something that could give back to the sport and, importantly, provide another platform for South African fighters.”
It is a transition few active athletes attempt.
While continuing to train, fight and pursue his own ambitions at the highest level, Lerena has begun using the profile and experience built over his career to create opportunities for other fighters.
“Through ABP we’ve been able to give athletes opportunities they may not otherwise have had,” he says. “For me, that is probably the greatest achievement of all.”
A different measure of sporting success
That makes his Sportsman of the Year nomination particularly significant.
Elite sport is inevitably measured in titles, rankings, records and results. But an athlete’s influence can extend much further than the result recorded at the end of a fight.
For Lerena, 2025 brought both.
He successfully defended a world championship on South African soil.
He stepped into the heavyweight division and tested himself at Wembley.
He launched a boxing promotion.
He helped stage four sold-out events.
And, while still an active fighter himself, he began creating opportunities for the next generation of South African boxing talent.
Now, those achievements have earned recognition alongside some of the country’s leading sporting performers.
Lerena is quick to point out that none of it has been achieved alone.
“My team has been with me through everything. My lifelong trainer Peter Smith, my boxing management team, my PR team, our sponsors and partners, Boxing South Africa, my business partners at Aquila Boxing Promotions and everyone who shares this vision with us.”
There is another team whose contribution is harder to quantify.
“My wife and children make sacrifices alongside me every single day,” he says. “People see the fight nights and the big moments, but there is a huge amount that happens behind the scenes to make those moments possible.”
And then there is what Lerena calls the Lerena Army, the supporters who have followed his career through different weight divisions, championships, victories and setbacks.
“To everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, I am forever grateful.”
The next chapter
The nomination arrives at an interesting point in Lerena’s career.
He remains an active fighter with ambitions of his own, but increasingly his impact on South African boxing is no longer confined to what happens when he steps between the ropes.
The fighter is becoming in a sense, a promoter.
The champion is becoming a platform-builder.
And the athlete who spent years pursuing opportunities is now helping create them for somebody else.
Whatever happens when the South African Sport Awards are presented on 23 August, Lerena believes 2025 will remain one of the defining years of his career.
“Of course, I am proud of the titles and the fights. I’m proud that I was willing to challenge myself. But being able to start giving something back to South African boxing means just as much to me.
“This sport changed my life. If I can help it change somebody else’s life too, then we’ve achieved something worthwhile.”
