Lawrence Okolie vs David Light expert analysis
“The Sauce” vs “The Great White”
Lawrence Okolie (18-0, 14KO) returns to the site of his professional debut exactly six years after appearing there. “The Sauce” defends his WBO World cruiserweight title for a third time to David Light (20-0, 12KO) at the Manchester Arena on March 25, live on Sky Sports.
It was on March 25, 2017 when the 25-year-old debutant, fresh from the 2016 Summer Olympics, destroyed an overmatched Geoffrey Cave in a scheduled four-rounder within 20 seconds, chopping down at the dazed journeyman with two right hooks to the face to knock him out cold.
Exactly six years on, the Hackney hard hitter returns to the same venue as a defending world champion, having also collected British, Commonwealth and European titles within that time.
Okolie hasn’t fought in 13 months and, this time, his 19th professional opponent will not be so easy. New Zealand’s David “The Great White” Light is the WBO #1 contender, having won the WBO Global title in his last fight.
Undefeated Light triumphed over fellow unbeaten cruiserweight Brandon Glanton on a split decision in an elimination match in America last December. A knockdown in the 10th and final round almost cost Light the fight, but he held on against the big puncher, thousands of miles away from his home, in Florida. Glanton has collected the same number of KOs as Okolie over the same amount of bouts, but Light was able to withstand his power for the full 10 rounds. Glanton was not impressed with the result, however, and cried claims of a robbery.
Auckland’s Light is fast and has a good punch variety; he’s always looking to work the body and varies straight shots at mid-range with hooks and uppercuts in close. He has a snappy jab and he’s light on his feet, always able to step out of range swiftly. He is able to adapt to opposing styles, as he displayed in his last bout, almost foregoing his jab completely to foil the home fighter’s game plan, resulting in the biggest win of his career. Even the knockdown proved that he’s got durability, which he will certainly need against a formidable puncher like Okolie.
However, he doesn’t move his head or trunk much, using his feet to get out of range instead, so he will be in the firing line against sharpshooter Okolie.
The Londoner’s height and reach will far surpass the Kiwi’s, as will his experience at this highest level.
Seven of his last eight opponents were stopped by round seven, and his last opponent, Michal Cieslak, was hurt badly in the first round, then decked in the fifth, but bravely made it to the final bell.
Only one opponent in 18 – Matty Askin – has ever got through a full fight with Okolie without being knocked down or knocked out.
The 30-year-old Londoner has come under fire from fight fans, mostly earlier on in his career, for his messy style of fighting and constant clinching. What’s refreshing is that has admitted to his flaws and gone back to the drawing board to work on them. He had been training with Shane McGuigan since May 2019 and the pair connected for a six-fight winning run which gleaned Okolie’s world title via a six-round knockout of Krzysztof Glowacki in March 2021. But now, Okolie is working under the tutelage of SugarHill Steward, who is bound to add an even bigger attacking adge to the Hackney man’s game.
The nephew of the late, great Emanuel Steward has continued the successful ethos of the famous Kronk Gym dealing only in knockouts, which he instilled into Tyson Fury after his draw with Deontay Wilder, resulting in two KO victories for the “The Gypsy King” to conclude their epic trilogy.
Okolie under SugarHill could create a whole new animal!
Betting Odds
Okolie is a clear favourite to win at 2/11 with Betway, while unbeaten challenger Light is given less chance at 15/4. The odds for a draw are quite low at 16/1.
Predictions
Light deserves all the respect for being here in this fight as the WBO #1 and with an impressive unbeaten in 20-bout unbeaten record. He clearly did well in his last outing, which was an eliminator to get here, against the toughest test of his career yet. I like how he adapted and dug deep to grind out that points win, unfortunately I don’t believe he will be able to mix it at world level with Okolie, who is four inches taller.
The champion has been in with better fighters, such as world title contender Michal Cieslak and former world champion Krzysztof Glowacki. His last five opponents had a combined record of 106-3.
Okolie starts fast, 12 of his 14 knockouts have come before midway in his fights, and with the added boost of having SugarHill in his corner urging him to go for the knockout, I’m predicting Okolie to KO Light in the first half of the fight, between rounds 1-6.
