"Is this live?" - Lawrence Okolie responds to whether he is still with Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn
Lawrence Okolie has been rumored to sign with BOXXER and Sky Sports recently. In an interview, when he was asked about his management, Okolie raised more questions than he answered.
When Okolie was asked about whether he was still with Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn, ‘The Sauce’ said:
"At the moment. I can't talk about it right now. Is this live? Then yeah, I'm with Eddie."
Watch the full interview here:
Okolie has been with Matchroom Boxing for his entire career since making his debut in 2017. Okolie is also signed with Anthony Joshua’s management team 258 MGT. Frazer Clarke, another fighter signed with 258, has recently signed with BOXXER.
In the early part of his career, Okolie garnered a lot of criticism for his style of boxing. Okolie's early fights were full of clinching, with the British cruiserweight using his size and strength to nullify his opponents.
Following a domestic clash with Matty Askin that was severely criticized by the public, Okolie vowed to make a change. Okolie got six stoppages in his next six fights, including the biggest fight of his career, the shot at at a world championship.
Lawrence Okolie faced Krzysztof Głowacki for the vacant WBO World Cruiserweight Championship. Głowacki had only lost twice before, both times to world champions in Mairis Briedis and Oleksander Usyk. Nevertheless, Okolie overcame the biggest fight of his career with class and stopped his opponent.
In the only fight since becoming a world champion, the criticism that he has faced for his style has come back. Eddie Hearn, Okolie's promoter, even labelled the fight with Michal Cieslak "boring."
Lawrence Okolie may move up to heavyweight
Okolie has been chasing a unification bout with Mairis Breidis, but the bout does not look like it will come to fruition. Mairis Briedis has instead called for a bout with Jake Paul.
Watch Mairis Breidis' Jake Paul diss track:
If a big fight cannot happen at cruiserweight, Okolie has no problem moving up to heavyweight. Okolie at 6’5 is a big cruiserweight, and heavyweight was always brought up as a future prospect for ‘The Sauce’.
Lawrence Okolie, however, has no plans to fight his manager, Anthony Joshua:
“If you are talking about someone like me and AJ, me and AJ are close, he is someone I look up to as a boxer and as a friend outside of boxing. It's not one that I am looking up to and saying that I want. If we are as good friends as I think maybe he will relinquish a WBO [title].”