Lawrence Okolie cannot afford Michal Cieslak defeat: 'It's win at all costs'

The 29-year-old Englishman meets his mandatory challenger at the London O2 Arena. Cieslak’s only defeat came against current WBC title holder Ilunga Makabu in 2020.

"He's a top 10 boxer and, at world level, everyone comes game," Okolie told the BBC.

"I'm prepared for a tough fight, but I'll always go in optimistic that I'll make easy work of it. It's win at all costs, but with a good boxing display, a knockout will come."

Okolie knows that at this level all it takes is one defeat to knock his career off the rails, and with heavyweight ambitions, a defeat now cannot be tolerated.

"I've seen fighters be amazing for 20 fights, knocking everyone out, then have a sub-par performance by their standards and they get abuse," he admitted.

"I'm just interested in winning, winning well, having good reviews from my coaches and the people that work with me day after day.

"Winning a world title is not like a Grammy or World Cup which can never be taken away. The belt is still active and can slip through the hands if you don't make weight or don't give it your all in training.

"So I will do everything possible to continue my reign."