SWEET 16 FOR OKOLIE
Lawrence races to world glory.. now he’s in a hurry to unify division
LAWRENCE OKOLIE sat, the right hand with which he had just knocked out Krzysztof Glowacki nestling in a bucket of ice, and acted as though little had happened.
Moments earlier, the Hackney fighter had become Britain’s seventh world cruiserweight champion.
He had also become the first of his country’s Rio Olympics class to reach the top of the professional sport.
And the unbeaten Brit did it all in just 16 wins, this being the 13th by way of knockout.
“It feels good but it doesn’t feel too big,” he said in his Wembley Arena dressing room. “I feel calm in the moment.”
For the new WBO cruiserweight king this was just another step on the road to bigger goals, which include becoming undisputed champion before moving to heavyweight.
And he wants to do that quicker than Oleksandr Usyk.
One problem there is the
Ukrainian became the fastest fighter to win all four major world titles in a division after just 15 pro fights.
But Okolie has a way around that. His lack of amateur experience compared to the Ukrainian means he can technically do it in fewer bouts across both codes.
“We only need to have three more,” he said. “Nineteen would be the aim. I want to do it bang, bang, bang. Risk it all and go for it quickest.
“I know Usyk did it quicker but still, amateur and pro fights is how I’m going to start selling it now.
“I think I’ve had 40, 41 amateur and pro fights together and managed to become a world champion.”
IBF champion Mairis Briedis is seen as the best 14st 4lb fighter on the planet, while there is also WBA title holder Arsen Goulamirian and the WBC’s Ilunga Makabu to conquer.
Okolie achieved this feat just nine years after he was inspired by watching while on a break from working a shift at McDonald’s his now manager Anthony Joshua win Olympic gold.
The fast-food giant stuck a post on Twitter to mark their former employee’s journey from flipping burgers to knocking out veteran Polish punchers to become world champion.
This was a performance which was far more mature than a fighter of Okolie’s experience. The 28-year-old was patient as he dominated the former world champion through five rounds, with his reach advantage, stiff jab and rocket of a right hand doing the work.
Then when the chance came to finish Glowacki in the sixth, round he was ruthless with the right to poleaxe the Pole (below).
“I was really within myself,” said ‘The Sauce’. “I didn’t want it to be a back-and-forth attritional fight so I haven’t had to show my grit and determination and my savage side yet.
“Nobody in the boxing ring has managed to bring that out of me. Maybe Briedis will bring the savage, we will see.”
Okolie continued to flick through his phone as he spoke, waiting for a message from manager Joshua, who had planned to attend but then opted out as he prepares for his fight with Tyson Fury.
Okolie had spoken to his biggest fan, though, his mum Elizabeth.
“I was happy I could do that for her,” he said.
“She was screaming and crying.”
And the celebration after a week in the Covid-19 secure bubble?
“I feel in a good mood but I don’t feel overly like celebrating,” he said.
“I will relax, play some Call of Duty and go have a bubble bath.”