Boxing
Lawrence Okolie wants Mairis Briedis next, hopes to unify at cruiserweight then move to heavyweight as soon as possible
Lawrence Okolie has reiterated his desire to unify the world cruiserweight boxing championship, but has recently admitted he wants to do it fast and move into the heavyweight ranks as soon as he can.
Okolie was punch-perfect in his victory over Krzysztof Glowacki, eventually scoring a sixth-round knockout to claim the vacant WBO 200lbs title. It was a performance few saw coming and by far the best of his professional career so far against a formidable opponent who was expected to cause the Rio 2016 Olympian problems.
Post-fight, he confirmed he wants all the belts, with current IBF titleholder and World Boxing Super Series tournament winner Mairis Briedis regarded as the biggest hurdle en route to that goal.
However Okolie this week told Boxing Scene that a conversation with tenured British heavyweight Dereck Chisora, a friend of Okolie's who fights Joseph Parker on Saturday live on DAZN in many parts of the world, helped him realise that the 28-year-old does not have a lot of time to waste if he is to move up and adapt to the maximum weight class.
“I want to unify now," he said. "I saw Dereck at ringside and he made me realize those guys are really big, so I need to focus on tactics a lot more.
“A lot of the things I have used in this division, like my size and strength, will not work for me at heavyweight. There is a lot more learning to do and still some big fights at cruiserweight because I want to unify.
"Briedis is my next target because I believe he is the best in the division and I want another step up.”
Chisora's most recent outing was against a man who also unified at cruiserweight before moving up, the undefeated Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk himself has had his work cut out for him in the new division, though in his first couple of heavyweight outings he has continued his winning ways.
Usyk is also the only man so far to defeat Latvia's Briedis as a professional, another thing Okolie hopes to emulate.
