At the beginning of 2024, we all have a very clear image of Lawrence Okolie, but that image changes, warps and grows over time.
In January, we still remembered Okolie as a lightweight, long and lean, but those physical advantages hindered him as much as they enhanced. We remember him flatteringly cheating Chris Billam-Smith and giving him his WBO belt, and fear that Okolie will now struggle to advance in a sport famous for lacking both abilities , because of his performance and previous performance. Be patient and understanding.
Then we heard he was working with Manchester-based championship trainer Joe Gallagher and planned to reinvent himself in a new weight class: bridgeweight. The class, which weighs in at 24 pounds north of lightweight, is still in its infancy and therefore lacks depth, but what really matters to Okolie is what it represents: a new beginning and a show of difference to the world Image opportunities.
Even better, in addition to making his bridgeweight debut at 223 pounds, Okolie also looked great at his new weight, stopping Lucas in the first round in Poland. Rozanski. Suddenly, in just a few minutes, we were treated to a new look at Okolie. Yes, he’s bigger, that’s what we gathered from the weigh-in, but on fight night, Okolie will continue to deliver a look that reaches his full potential; something he’s teased but has struggled to do so far accomplish.
Six months later, we got another version of Okolie. This guy is bigger and now calls himself a heavyweight.
Some people saw him weigh in and said he was too fat, weighing in at 260 pounds, but Okolie looked as good as ever on game night. This time he stopped 6-foot-5 German Hussein Muhamed in one round, and in first gear. In fact, he defeated his first heavyweight opponent with such ease that those watching the takedown couldn’t figure out whether it meant nothing now or, conversely, everything Makes sense.
“When Lawrence came to me and mentioned bridgeweight, I thought it was ideal and great,” Okolie coach Joe Gallagher said. “It weighed 16 stone and I wanted to see how he performed at that weight. He always said he was exhausted as a lightweight and the weight gain was killing him.
“He moved up to bridgeweight and fought Rozanski at around 16 stone 12 pounds (236 pounds). In the gym at that training camp, all his sparring partners were at 16 stone or 17 stone Going left and right, I think. Wow, he’s very good at carrying weight..
“He played against Rozanski and he looked great. He’s long, tall and has good shot selection. He showed good mobility.
“Then you look at Oleksandr Usyk, who weighed in at 16 stone for the Tyson Fury fight in December, and you remind yourself that there are big heavyweights and there are small weights level player.
“He really did everything he could at bridgeweight. There was talk of a unification fight but that didn’t happen. So we looked at his performance against Rozanski at 17 stone and decided he should move up.
“For his first fight I wanted a proper heavyweight opponent – an 18-stone guy. I wanted a tall guy and his last opponent (Hussein Mohammed) met those Demand. He’s a good amateur, a good boxer, can box, and he brings a little bit of a fear factor.
“I made Lawrence watch a lot of Lennox Lewis’ fights before that fight. I made him watch his fights with (Andrew) Golota and (Donovan) “Razor” Ruddock. I want him to see how he handles them, with a good jab and that kind of thing.”
Okolie’s growth over the past 12 months is a fascinating case study. He’s twice as good as he was in many ways, and his reinvention has been a balancing act from the beginning, with weight gain never being an exact science in boxing. While some people need the extra weight to perform at their best, for others it just slows them down and impairs their ability to detect and respond to danger.
As for Okolie, 21-1 (16), the signs so far are that he is a fighter for whom bigger does mean better.
“His work on the track continues, his work in the gym continues, the sparring continues, he’s a very athletic kid,” Gallagher said. “Doing track and field at 17 stone and then doing track and field at 18 stone in a weighted vest and he’s still doing it. Granted, he’s not hitting the ball at the same time but it’s not the same as his previous hit. They’re just one or two seconds off the ball. The effort, the energy and the recovery are still there, and I’m really happy with him.
“People criticize him for being so big, and I’ve even seen other pros tear him apart. You’d think they’d know better. Look at Tyson Fury. Look at Larry Holmes. Not everyone’s body is beautiful. of.”
Of course, while Okolie’s move to heavyweight was about loosening his belt and taking away the pain of making weight, it was also a business and financial decision. After all, Okolie is fighting at heavyweight, not bridgeweight, and will make the money any boxer could hope to make in his prime. It was there, in the heavyweight division, that the 32-year-old suddenly found himself surrounded by quality, big-name opponents who were equally keen on winning lucrative bouts in the Middle East.
“We’re hoping for a big fight in April,” Gallagher confirmed. “We’re also looking at the results of the heavyweight fights. We’re looking at what Fabio Wardley does in the WBA and Moses Itauma does in the WBO. Everybody is looking at those. Be prepared when a title becomes vacant or even a temporary belt becomes available.
“Lawrence Okolie is in a really good position with the WBC. I think we’re one fight away from him becoming their mandatory challenger. So with that in mind, we’re looking at a good fight in April; another We mentioned[Deontay]Wilder, we mentioned Joe Joyce and we’re looking at those types of opponents – those are the guys that are most likely to give us the fight as well. There’s going to be some fear factor.”
If Okolie passes his first real test as a top heavyweight in April, the Londoner’s plan is to apply for a shot at the world heavyweight title. As it stands, it’s likely to be the WBC version, but there are others, and Gallagher knows this strange business as well as anyone and he expects the second half of 2025 to be quite a free-for-all.
“One hundred percent,” Okolie said when asked if he would fight for the belt this year. “Maybe Usyk and (Daniel) Dubois will have some big fight in August or September. A unification fight and then we’ll see what happens with the belts. In the meantime, the sanctioning bodies will, as usual, put pressure on their champions to put in a mandatory defense that could break things up for you. Having to be in that position to challenge for the belt, that’s what we’re focused on right now.
“I think we’re about to see an era similar to the era of (Tim) Witherspoon, (James) “Bonecrusher” Smith and Tony Tucker as champions. They’re all cutting and changing, and they can all be in No one can hold the belt for a long time on any given night and I think we’ll be heading in that direction again.”
He may be right. If history has taught us anything, it’s that a heavyweight boxer is a lot like a reinvented boxer. Its appearance may change from time to time, but essentially it remains the same.
