Lerena is an official challenger for the World Boxing Council title and won the WBC silver belt in that weight class last year. The South African fighter's last fight was at heavyweight, but that didn't affect his status in the Bridgeway.
Last Friday, Okolie became the new WBC titleholder with an early win over Lukasz Ruzanski. The duel was the main event of a boxing evening organized in the former champion's hometown of Rzeszów, Poland.