The long wait is over for Malawi’s most successful professional boxer, Isaac Chilemba, who is set to return to the ring on March 5 when he faces unbeaten Cuban Lenar Perez at the Casino de Montréal in Canada.
The South Africa-based boxer (27-10-3, 11 KOs) will take on World Boxing Association (WBA) third-ranked Perez (15-0, 14 KOs) in a World Boxing Council (WBC) continental light heavyweight title bout.
The fight marks Chilemba’s return after nearly two years out of action.
The former International Boxing Organisation (IBO) super middleweight world champion last fought in May 2024, when he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Russian Alexei Papin.
The bout will serve as the co-main event on a card promoted by Eye of the Tiger Management.
In the main supporting contest, two-time world title challenger Steven Butler will face Switzerland’s Ramadan Hiseni for the WBA Continental super middleweight championship.
At 38, Chilemba faces a stern test against the 27-year-old Perez, widely regarded as one of Cuba’s rising stars in the light heavyweight division.
Boxing website www.boxingscene.com has described the contest as a classic clash between youth and experience.
The website reported: “Lenar Perez, with an impressive undefeated record of 15-0 with 14 knockouts, is currently ranked third in the world by the WBA and 14th by the IBF. He will face Chilemba, a veteran seasoned by elite competition, known for his durability and for sharing the ring with fighters such as Dmitry Bivol and Sergey Kovalev.
“It will be a clash of styles: Perez’s youth and power against Chilemba’s experience and proven resilience. Boxing fans in Quebec and beyond are eager to see the ‘Cuban Prince’ in action in North America.”
Another boxing outlet, www.punchinggrace.com, said despite his long spell of inactivity, Chilemba could pose serious problems for the undefeated Cuban.
“This will be Chilemba’s third fight in Quebec. In March 2015, he handed Vasily Lepikhin his first loss on the undercard of the first Sergey Kovalev–Jean Pascal bout. Later that year, he lost a closely contested majority decision to Eleider Alvarez.
“Known for his durability, the former world title challenger has been stopped only twice in 40 professional fights. He is also the only boxer to have gone the full 12 rounds with feared Osleys Iglesias, in a bout held in Poland in 2022,” the website reported.
Chilemba was not available for comment, but earlier this month he indicated that he was preparing for a return despite still recovering from a rib injury which needs a surgery.
“I am still rebuilding, but getting there. Hopefully, in the next few days I will get myself together to return to the ring,” Chilemba told Weekend Nation.
