Watch: Lawrence Okolie gets walked out by Israel Adesanya and Anthony Joshua at the O2 ArenaΒ
Lawrence Okolie walked out with Israel Adesanya and Anthony Joshua for his fight against Michal Cieslak. Okolie was defending his WBO Cruiserweight title against Cieslak. 'The Sauce' made sure to produce a walkout befitting of the occasion.
On his way to the ring, Okolie was accompanied by UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and former boxing heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Adesanya held up the Nigerian flag while Joshua held up the WBO title for 'The Sauce'.
Watch Lawrence Okolie's walkout with Israel Adesanya and Anthony Joshua below:
πππππ πππππ
@anthonyjoshua x @stylebender x @Lawrence_tko π€©
#OkolieCieslak https://t.co/Q2kt22B0aH
Lawrence Okolie ended up successfully defending his belt against Michal Cieslak. The champion controlled the pace of the fight and ended up walking away with a unanimous decision victory.
Another successful world title defence for @Lawrence_tko, is it time to unify? π
@autozone https://t.co/x39D9kVxOT
Interestingly, it was the first time in eight fights where 'The Sauce' heard the final bell. Okolie took his pro-boxing record to 18-0 (14 KOs). The fight was scored 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 in Okolie's favor.
Anthony Joshua will face Oleksandr Usyk later this year
Joshua is set to take on Oleksandr Usyk later this year in an attempt to win reclaim the heavyweight titles. Joshua and Usyk first fought in September 2021. Although 'AJ' walked into the fight as a massive favorite, he was handed a shock defeat by the Ukrainian.
Oleksandr Usyk thoroughly outboxed and outclassed the Brit to get a unanimous decision victory over the then-WBO, WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO Heavyweight Champion. After the fight, Joshua was quick to activate the rematch clause to take on Usyk again.
However, at one point it looked like we might not see Joshua vs. Usyk II. There were discussions about a possible step-aside deal for the Ukrainian to take on Tyson Fury first. However, the deal ended up collapsing and Fury was booked to take on Dillian Whyte.
There hasn't been a date or venue decided for the highly anticipated heavyweight bout just yet. However, the fight will most likely take place later this year. It will be interesting to see whether Joshua can regain his heavyweight titles or if Oleksandr Usyk will prove to be too much for 'AJ' yet again.