Lawrence Okolie: Jake Paul mugged off Mairis Briedis

Okolie fights Polish challenger Michal Cieslak on Sunday, live on DAZN. A win would set him up to face either WBC champion Makabu - the likely option - or perhaps even Latvian Briedis, who holds the IBF belt.

Speaking to the BBC, Okolie explained negotiations have previously taken place.

"I messaged Briedis privately via Instagram and tried to arrange meet-ups and get something to make it happen, but the timings haven't worked out and they had other ideas," Okolie said.

The 37-year-old Briedis has been chasing a fight with Jake Paul, perhaps in pursuit of a payday not usually available at cruiserweight. Okolie was unimpressed at the time, and has little patience for the stunt.

"I know what he's aiming at but some people are realists and some people are fantasists," he said.

"The realists understand you're world champion and the biggest fights to be made are unifications. A fantasist says that if I get a tattoo, a 5-0 guy might box me. It's ridiculous.

"I saw Jake Paul's reaction to it - he kind of mugged him off by pretending to not even know who Briedis is."