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Lawrence Okolie criticism unwarranted as ‘The Sauce’ stays on his path towards world heavyweight title fight with latest win
It was the American writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau who once said, “It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.”
This quote from Thoreau is a nod to keeping things in perspective and also highlights the importance of perception.
On the same night that Oleksandr Usyk was drawing respect and adoration online for knocking out Daniel Dubois and becoming undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time, Lawrence Okolie was catching hell in some quarters on Twitter/X for his winning performance in the chief supporting bout.
After 10 rounds of (admittedly limited) action against Kevin Lerena, the big man from Hackney prevailed by scores of 100-90 on two cards and 99-91 on the other. The win leaves him with a record of 22-1 (16) and he is ranked No. 1 by the WBC in the heavyweight division.
It was revealed afterwards that former WBO cruiserweight and WBC bridgerweight world champion tore his bicep in the very first round. If that’s the case, then controlling the fight as he did with only one arm that was 100% healthy was quite the performance.
Instead of giving props for handling business though, some critics were choosing to follow a narrative that Okolie is boring. However, this writer thought that was a clinical performance against a gutsy opponent who had plenty of ambition and who had only been stopped once himself in 34 fights (by the heavy hands of Dubois in 2022).
The 32-year-old East Londoner controlled the fight from the opening stanza, and in truth much of the holding and spoiling was done by Lerena.
This article won’t be giving a punch-by-punch description of the fight, but you can watch the highlights below. Summary for the lazy: A younger, bigger contender did a very professional job against a game and capable (if slightly shopworn) challenger who still had plenty of ambition and was coming to win.
People were genuinely acting like Lerena didn't have Dubois over three times and almost stopped Justis Huni during a frenzied final round of their Saudi tear-up in March 2024.
Okolie looked like a tank, absolutely huge at his career-highest weight of 262lbs. He remains a work in progress - despite his lofty WBC ranking - at this weight and one wonders whether he would be more effective if he was a bit lighter?
262lbs is a crazy weight for someone who was 199 against Chris Billam-Smith circa two years ago.
Pitching pretty much a clean sweep on the judges’ cards was not enough to impress the online boxing cognoscenti, and the post-fight narrative painted Okolie as uninspiring and risk averse. A fighter who holds too much. However, Okolie came into the fight on the back of two first-round knockouts in his first two fights after leaving the cruiserweight division in his rear-view mirror. How’s that for risk averse? Trust me, there was nothing wrong with Saturday’s performance. There’s a ruthlessness behind the affable smile and Okolie is a problem for anyone at heavyweight.
The beauty of boxing is that it is seldom simply about the process of giving and taking punches. There are always sub-plots and fascinating back stories. And there’s an emotional storyline behind Okolie’s move to heavyweight.
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Coach Joe Gallagher revealed earlier this year he has been diagnosed with stage four bowel and liver cancer.
Gallagher won Ring Magazine trainer of the year in 2015. He was the first British born coach to win the accolade, but he has yet to train a heavyweight champion. Okolie has vowed to pay the ultimate tribute to his brave and selfless coach by becoming Joe’s first heavyweight champ.
Earlier this year Okolie revealed to The Ring that Gallagher kept his condition secret from his stable of fighters for a little while, choosing to tell them when he felt the time was right.
‘The Sauce’ told The Ring: "He hasn't had a heavyweight world champion yet, so we're gonna get one."
He does hold at times. He can be guilty of smothering his work also when things are not flowing. There are also question marks around his optimal weight at heavyweight. But he is also hugely talented, as well as being dedicated, and the bottom line is worse fighters than Lawrence Okolie have become heavyweight champions.
It would be touching and poignant if he did it with Gallagher, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility either as the sands of time run down on this generation’s best. Usyk is 38 and rumoured to want just one more fight before riding off into the sunset. Tyson Fury is 36 and Anthony Joshua is 35. The belts will likely become fragmented, and Okolie is as well-placed right now as anyone to cash in.
Nothing is impossible. So don’t sleep on The Sauce’. He can really fight.
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