After successfully defending his WBO title against David Light, Lawrence Okolie called out WBC champion Badou Jack for a massive unification fight.
On March 26, ‘The Sauce’ made his return to the ring and produced a comprehensive victory over his mandatory challenger. And while the contest didn’t excite throughout, the towering Brit undeniably proved his status as one of the trickiest fighters on the planet.
While some wrote off the performance, others congratulated Okolie for outboxing an extremely tough opponent.
In an esteemed career, his New Zealand-born adversary has picked up a Commonwealth Games Silver Medal and recently travelled to Florida to claim the unbeaten scalp of top American prospect, Brandon Glanton. Therefore, he had every chance of becoming a world champion on Saturday night, but ultimately, Okolie was too good.
From the opening bell, the Londoner took control of the bout. Utilising his physical strength and ferocious power he completely dominated the early portion of the fight. However, in a testament to his Kiwi fighting heart, Light battled his way back into the contest, working his way inside and landing a plethora of decent shots.
However, as the rounds rolled on, Okolie took hold of proceedings, even coming close to dispatching his man in the 11th round.
The 6 ft 5 monster stiffened his rival’s legs with a series of devastating right hands. But somehow, ‘The Great White’ managed to survive and made his way to the final bell.
Unsurprisingly, Okolie won comfortably on the cards and now looks set for the biggest fight of his career.
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Lawrence Okolie calls out Badou Jack
In the UK, the cruiserweight division is as hot as any weight class in the country. With the likes of Richard Riakporhe and Chris Billam-Smith biting at Okolie’s heels, the 200-pound King certainly isn’t short of options.
However, while those domestic bouts would undoubtedly capture mass media attention on our shores, from a global perspective, there are unification matches on the table that would whet the appetite of any fight fan even more so.
Currently, Australian sensation, Jai Opetaia, holds the IBF strap, while Frenchman, Arsen Goulamirian, proudly wears the WBA belt around his waist. But there’s another title-holder who undeniably stands out from the pack.
On February 26, Badou Jack shocked the world by becoming a three-weight world champion. The Swedish legend stopped Illunga Makabu in the 11th round to solidify his place as a future Hall of Famer.
With a tight guard and an unrelenting will to win, ‘The Ripper’ has spent a career overcoming the odds. Therefore, he’ll believe he possesses the fundamental skills to give Okolie a boxing lesson.
Of course, the Briton disagrees, thus giving this the makings of an extremely tasty affair. And after his recent victory, he revealed that he intends to meet up with Jack to try and get a deal over the line.
Speaking exclusively to SPORF, he said: “Definitely. I’m going to see him in Dubai. So we’ll have a conversation about that and see if we can make it happen.”
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