Boxing
Lawrence Okolie targets fight with ‘most avoided’ heavyweight to boost world title hopes
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Top heavyweight contender Lawrence Okolie is happy to step up and face Agit Kabayel in a bid to further his own career.
Okolie is rated at number one by the WBC whilst Kabayel serves as the sanctioning body’s interim champion.
As such, Okolie believes a fight with the German makes sense. He told iFL TV: “For me, the one that I want is Kabayel, and the reasons are clear. I’ve said several times - he’s the WBC interim champion, I can’t see myself getting an Usyk fight next, so he’s the most credible, the most avoided fighter in the weight division, so he’s the one that I want.
“Because I believe a win over him pushes you towards a world title. So that’s my main goal. If that’s not possible, because I’m hearing he’s looking at (Nelson) Hysa or some other fighters, I think that one would have to be the one after. So I’ll have one in between.”
Already a two-division champion thanks to winning the WBO strap at cruiserweight before moving up to embryonic bridgerweight division to take the WBC crown, Okolie sees a clear path to a world title shot at heavyweight.
Victory over Kabayel would install Okolie as the mandatory challenger with the WBC for Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed crown.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
He added: “It’s the WBC, you have to stick with the governing body that you’re in. I’m obviously No 1 ranked right now, so you have to take out whoever is above you. So it’s only him and Usyk above me, so it’s simple.”
Kabayel is rumoured to be headlining a show in his native Germany in January, with Queensberry Promotions stablemate Nelson Hysa mooted as a potential opponent. Okolie, who last fought on the undercard of Usyk’s second victory over Daniel Dubois in July, is keen to remain active after shaking off an injury.
Cruising to a unanimous decision win over Kevin Lerena at Wembley, Okolie suffered a torn bicep, but the issue is now behind him as he targets a return in December.
He continued: “I had an injury in my last fight, which has healed up nicely, so now I’m back punching, back doing full training. I think by December I should have a fight.”
Okolie’s fellow Queensberry heavyweights Moses Itauma and Derek Chisora are slated to top a card in Manchester in the final month of 2025. Whilst ‘The Sauce’ stated he would not be fighting either man in December, he implied he would be open to the prospect of a fight with Itauma or Chisora in 2026.
“No, there’s been no conversations about me fighting either of those two,” he explained.
“I think at this stage, all three of us are looking at different things. I can’t see that being December, but in 2026 any of those fights are possible.”
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