With a crushed weight of loss and grief, Kevin Lerena drowned heavily in her dressing room.
South African Heavyweight had gone a distance against Australian probability Justice Honey in Saudi Arabia. He shook Huni in the final round, but could not give a decisive blow.
For most boxers, it is so difficult to get closer to victory that it is difficult to swallow. For Lerena, however, there was a feeling of deep relief.
A day earlier he received a devastating news that his mother died in South Africa.
“I was happy that the fight was over and I could go home and take my mother to rest,” he told the BBC Sport.
The fact is that Lerena stepped into the ring, speaks of her mental strength, but she says that withdrawing was never an option.
He said, “When she suddenly passed, I was not at home to live with her, but I kept quiet and I put my strong armor to represent my country and my family to my strong armor.”
“It was difficult, though. It took a emotional toll on me. I am only human and I felt it in the fight. I felt dry and tired.”
On July 19, Lerena will face British Lawrence Okoli at the Wambali Stadium in the latest chapter in an extraordinary life filled with high, climb and true cinematic drama.
Lerena has dropped the future heavyweight world champion three times in the first round. He has gone away from a helicopter crash. And he has been an important witness in one of the most high-profile murder trials of the 21st century.