WBO world cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (18-0, 14 KO’s) is aiming to do a demolition job on undefeated title challenger David Light (20-0, 12 KO’s) when the two meet in Manchester on Saturday, March 25th, live and exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK.
But he knows there will be hard work involved, as Light brings a deep pedigree to the ring with him. The 31-year-old won a silver medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and was three times national champion of his native New Zealand before turning pro in 2017 and commencing his 20-fight win streak.
“He’s got good hands, good footwork. He’s able to change up his style – fight on the back foot, fight on the front foot, have a slugfest like he did in his last fight. So I’ll be interested to see what he thinks he’s going to do on the day,” said Okolie.
“As soon as I establish myself and I start getting comfortable letting [the big shots] off, we’ll see if that gameplan of his is working or not… We’re going to have a conversation, but not with words. I have to assert myself on him.”
Okolie has prepared for this fight – his third title defence – with noted trainer SugarHill Steward and says the partnership has produced a focused gameplan which will see Light picked apart before being taken out around the middle of the twelve-round fight.
“It’s definitely been a new experience training with a great teacher like SugarHill… it’s very much about positioning, it’s very much the tiniest little things, but it makes a big difference. It gives me a sort of structure. [Instead of] just doing what I want, I find myself paying a lot more attention to detail,” he says.
Visualizing the March 25th fight, Okolie pictures himself setting the pace and tone of the exchanges before dominating and eventually ending the encounter early.
“If I hit anyone clean, it’s the beginning of the end. But I think with him, I do see it being maybe like a mid-rounds stoppage. I have to break him down – he’s a fit guy, he’s experienced, he did ten rounds in his last fight,,” he says.
“I have to literally break him, so I’m going to do that.”
Confirmed fights for BOXXER Fight Night: Manchester on Saturday, March 25th are as follows:
Lawrence Okolie vs David Light
12 x 3 mins WBO World Cruiserweight Championship
Frazer Clarke vs Rydell Booker
8 x 3 mins International Heavyweight contest
Karriss Artingstall vs TBA
6 x 2 mins Featherweight contest
Callum Simpson vs TBA
6 x 3 mins Super-Middleweight contest
Tickets are on sale from today via Boxxer.com
