Hekkie Budler reclaimed the IBO junior-flyweight belt he last held in 2011 when he forced Filipino Joey Canoy to quit on his stool at the start of the eighth round on Saturday night.

Budler‚ who had spent nearly six years at strawweight before outgrowing the division‚ was too strong for his less experienced opponent.

But he ate a fair amount of leather early on in this box-and-dine event at Emperor’s Palace near OR Tambo airport.

 Southpaw Canoy beat Budler to the punch several times‚ catching him flatfooted at times.

But he couldn’t handle the thin Highveld air once the South African attacked the body in the sixth and seventh rounds.

Also a former strawweight‚ Canoy was physically smaller than Budler — which takes some doing — and the difference in power between them was obvious in the exchanges.

Budler‚ whose record improved to 31 wins (10 stoppages) and two defeats‚ paraded Canoy around the ring afterwards to show the crowd that he believed his opponent‚ now 12-3-1‚ was a future world champion.

 That could be one option — another is that 28-year-old Budler’s reflexes are not what they once were. We should find out soon enough as he seeks a bigger world title in the division.

 In other action‚ cruiserweight Kevin Lerena won on a fifth-round technical knockout‚ but in reality this was a scrap where experienced Vikapita Meroro employed spoiling tactics to survive before running out of steam and surrendering‚ almost out of nowhere.

 The bout was held at catchweight because the Namibian‚ who last fought in May 2015‚ couldn’t make the weight‚ and it was quickly apparent that he and his wobbling paunch didn’t have the stomach for trench warfare.

 What he did have‚ however‚ was ring experience and for as long as he had gas in the tank‚ he was able to slip Lerena’s blows and tie him up on the inside.

 Lerena was found wanting in a few areas‚ like fighting at close quarters and using half steps to manipulate the distance between himself and his opponent instead of trying to bulldoze forward all the time.

 If he can learned from this‚ then the bout would have been worth it‚ because you can bet your bottom dollar that there are other cruiserweights out there who have similar ring craft but are considerably fitter.

 Lerena’s record now stands at 17-1 while Meroro’s dropped to 28-6.

 Light-heavyweight Ryno Liebenberg was unable to avenge his earlier defeat against German Enrico Kolling‚ losing by unanimous decision over 10 hard-fought rounds.

 Welterweight prospect Tulz Mbenge picked off Ntuthuko Memela in the third round to stretch his unbeaten record to nine wins‚ all inside the distance.

 This kid‚ a bronze medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games‚ is one of the brightest prospects in the country.

 Rowan Campbell went 2-0 with a first-round victory over debutant Fhulufhelo Ramaliba.