Lawrence Okolie lost his cruiserweight title last year, in a thrilling upset against Chris Billam-Smith but is now ready to bounce back with another title charge
Lawrence ‘The Sauce’ Okolie hasn’t stepped foot in the ring since losing his WBO cruiserweight strap to Chris Billam-Smith in May.
In his previous bout against David Light, the 31-year-old walked away with a victory, though it was far from the best Okolie we have seen.
A change in weight classes may be exactly what the Briton needs to reignite his career.
Speaking to Sky Sports, BOXXER’s Ben Shalom revealed their plans for Okolie going forward.
“I think we’re going to look to move up to heavyweight or fight immediately for a world title at bridgerweight.
“The reason his performances haven’t been at the level he was used to is, I do think, the weight, as a 6’6 guy. This is personal opinion, and especially at that top level, [that] was getting in the way of his very best performances.
“I think he’s looking very seriously at the heavyweight division, possibly bridgerweight first and I think that’s where we’re going to see Lawrence in the latter stages of his career.
“He’s a really talented fighter and so I just think the story hasn’t even begun for Lawrence Okolie. Cast your mind back to cruiserweights Oleksandr Usyk and David Haye and people that have really made their legacy in the heavyweight division.
“He’s a lot bigger than those guys. His frame’s a lot bigger, he’s had to work extremely hard to do what he’s done in the cruiserweight division and sometimes fighters don’t talk about the struggles they go through.
“The Lawrence Okolie story is just about to begin and I think it’s going to be at a weight division that suits where he’s at.”
Shalom was quick to point out, that despite a couple of lacklustre performances, Okolie remains a huge name in the sport, and that with a move up through the weights, he will have the opportunity to prove yet again why he was once such a highly regarded prospect.
“He’s still a huge name, he’s still a huge personality. There aren’t many boxers who can walk down the street and people know who they are and Lawrence is one of them.
“Whatever people may say about his last couple of performances he’s a big name, he’s a big personality, he’s a big talent.
“There are not many big names in British boxing that are still coming through. That’s why the world is at his feet. I know that might be hard to see when you lose your world title.
“But when you’re performing not at your best and you’re working that hard to make the weight, you might look back and say you know what it was a blessing in disguise.
“He can really let the shackles off and go again.”
Bridgerweight is a new weight class created by the WBC sitting between cruiserweight and heavyweight. If the Londoner makes a move up to 224 lbs for a title challenge, he will likely face off against reigning bridgerweight champion, Lukasz Rozanski.