Tragedy as mother of boxer on Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou undercard passes away hours before fight

KEVIN LERENA is mourning the death of his mother just hours before his return to the ring.

The South African is set to feature on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's crossover clash with Francis Ngannou on Friday night against Justis Huni.

But the 31-year-old will have an extremely heavy heart when he faces the Aussie following the passing of his mother - whom he plans to honour by going ahead with the bout.

He wrote on X on Thursday morning: "Today I lost [the] strongest woman I have ever known.

"My mom fought tirelessly as a single mom to raise us, and her strength and determination will forever inspire me.

"Even in her final moments she fought until the very end, she fought with all her might.

"Mom, I love you, I will carry on your warrior spirit.

"Tomorrow night, I WILL FIGHT in your honour because you were a LION and you raised a LION.

"Your fight lives on in me, and I will always carry your strength with me.

"Rest peacefully in God’s kingdom."

Lerena's followers were quick to offer their condolences, with one saying: "Condolences champ."

Another said: "Sincerest condolences Kevin, to yourself and your family."

And another said: "Condolences Champ. All the best tomorrow."

One remarked: "Sorry for your loss. Condolences to you and the family."

Another chimed in: "Condolences it takes a champion to raise a champion."

Lerena faces Huni on the back of a lengthy training camp with Tyson Fury, in which he helped The Gyspy King prepare for his rescheduled undisputed heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

The interim WBC bridgerweight champion enters the contest on the back of decision wins over Ryad Merhy and Senad Gashi.

He suffered a third-round TKO defeat to Brit Daniel Dubois in December 2022, despite knocking Triple D down three times in the first round.

That loss snapped a 17-fight win streak for the Johannesburg jouster, who has competed at cruiserweight, bridgerweight and heavyweight.