Lawrence Okolie will be making his big comeback to the boxing ring after he was knocked down three times and recorded the first defeat in his career against Chris Billam-Smith.
Okolie had to see his WBO cruiserweight world title be handed to Billam-Smith in a majority decision defeat last May in Bournemouth.
Now, Okolie is ready to move up from cruiserweight to confront Lukasz Rozanski in a fight for the WBC World Bridgerweight world title that the latter holds after he obtained a spectacular first-round K.O. win against Alen Babic
The match will take place in Poland on May 24 with the latest boxing odds available at selected sportsbooks. Okolie explained that he felt more prepared than ever to beat Rozanski and become a two-weight world champion.
In an interview for Sky Sports, Okolie said that he can now better understand the difference between winning and losing a world title, which is why he wants the victory in Poland “bad”.
When asked if he was more motivated than ever to win, he replied “If I’m going to be brutally honest then definitely” adding that he needs to also “prove a lot of people wrong”.
He further explained that he also wishes to show “the other team” what he is capable of and “remind a lot of people what I’ve done and what I’m capable of and what I’ve got left in the tank“.
The 31-year-old Olympian who defeated Krzysztof Głowacki in 2021 with a stoppage win over six rounds will fight out of the UK for the first time in his professional career.
The boxer also acknowledged that the tickets for the match will sell out as Polish fans will want to show up in support of their co-national.
To Okolie, this will be an opportunity to smash Rozanski in front of his fans.
As for a potential rematch against Billam-Smith, the idea is not completely off the table.
However, for the time being, the champion is getting ready to face British cruiserweight rival Richard Riakporhe.
Lawrence Okolie commented on the idea, saying that while his career was not hanging on a rematch and that the rematch was not something he was “desperately chasing”, he activated the rematch clause but, “for one reason or another it never happened”.
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