He’s big and bad and could be the bolter for the Golden Gloves Super Four cruiserweight contest starting in August.
Youri “El Toro” Kalenga, who hails from the DRC but lives in France, is on the short list after negotiations with promoter Gary Hyde.
Kalenga (23-3) is a former holder of the WBA Interim belt who has mixed with some of the division’s biggest names, among them Denis Lebedev and Yunier Dorticos.
One of his best performances came on a Golden Gloves bill in Monte Carlo when he scored a devastating ninth-round KO of Roberto Bolonti, who contested last year’s Super Four.
He is a front-foot fighter who throws plenty of punches and has a damaging left hook. Given his experience and power, he would likely start as favourite in the cruiserweight event.
As things stand, the other participants will be either Kevin Lerena or Thabiso Mchunu – but not both, on account of them being stablemates – and Ukraine’s Ismayl Sillah (25-3), who fought Sergey Kovalev in 2013 and is a popular figure on the US fight scene.
Promoter Rodney Berman is still shopping around for a fourth international fighter, even while the Rand continues to dive against major currencies.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s tough,” he said. “But we won’t let it affect our plans to put on high-quality boxing. The show must go on.”
