Lawrence Okolie plans on using his X-Factor against Michal Cieslak on Sunday

Lawrence Okolie tops the bill at the storm-torn O2 Arena in London on Sunday night when he defends his WBO cruiserweight title against Poland’s Michal Cieslak. Part of the O2’s roof was swept off by Storm Eunice last week, forcing the postponement of some events, but the Matchroom show goes ahead. The Polish visitor is […]

The post Lawrence Okolie plans on using his X-Factor against Michal Cieslak on Sunday appeared first on The Ring.

Lawrence Okolie tops the bill at the storm-torn O2 Arena in London on Sunday night when he defends his WBO cruiserweight title against Poland’s Michal Cieslak.

Part of the O2’s roof was swept off by Storm Eunice last week, forcing the postponement of some events, but the Matchroom show goes ahead.

The Polish visitor is 21-1 with his only previous loss coming to WBC champion Ilunga Makabu on points in 2020 but Okolie is on the crest of an exciting wave where he’s talking about unification fights, about meeting the world’s No. 1 Mairis Briedis and moving up a weight to get amongst boxing’s big boys and attractions at heavyweight.

Okolie is 17-0 and he’s stopped his last seven. He’s adjusted to life as a pro and he’s enjoying fight weeks.

“Yes, very much so,” he said, as he handled his media obligations with aplomb earlier this week. “I didn’t have any problems sleeping last night and I don’t think I’ll have any problems this whole week, so that’s a blessing.”

Fight weeks can be a grind. There are a multitude of media engagements, with TV, print journalists and online reporters and while it might seem like a hassle when it’s happening, it’s a part of the sport some boxers miss when they hang the gloves up.

Okolie can see how that could be the case.

“I think so,” he continued. “I enjoy being centre of attention, I love it to be fair, so we just have to make sure that I capitalise outside of boxing so I can make sure I can be the centre of attention in another field, but we will see.”

The talk of moving up to heavyweight has been commonplace for a couple of years but Okolie said that as long as he’s active, he’s okay making the 200lbs limit and he’s rated No. 3 by The Ring. His opponent is ranked No. 8.

“If I have fights regularly then it’s very easy to make the weight,” Okolie explained. “It’s just when I sit and eat and train how I want then the weight creeps up. This camp, we’ve got to fight week and I’m at my usual fight week weight and I don’t feel drained or anything and I’m still able to perform. We’ll see how it goes the next few days but I don’t anticipate any issues at all.”

He’s trained by Shane McGuigan, who has a busy stable with the talented Azim brothers, Anthony Fowler, Chris Billam-Smith, Caroline and Daniel Dubois and Robbie Davies and Shane has been busy, but Okolie admires how diligently his coach has worked to cover all the bases.

“It’s great,” Okolie said of McGuigan. “He’s a good leader and a good trainer so it’s a good kind of pressure and a good kind of feeling in the camp, where everyone is trying to push on and win.”

And Billam-Smith is a regular sparmate of Okolie. The two have put in plenty of work together over the years and Billam-Smith is now knocking on the door of a world title shot and a Ring ranking of his own.

“He’s very good, he getting sharper, more active and better,” added Okolie. “You’ve seen him climbing the ranks himself and he’s won the British, Commonwealth and European titles and he’s highly ranked in all the governing bodies so he can maybe so it could be in his next fight or his next two fights when he’s in a world title fight.”

For Okolie, he wants big fights and big names. At cruiser, they don’t come bigger than Ring champion Briedis, who has called out various A-listers from Canelo Alvarez to Jake Paul.

“I think he knows and his team knows that that [Jake Paul] fight’s never going to happen, but it’s good for them to drum up a tiny bit of social media attention,” Okolie admitted. “I’ve seen on twitter he’s bought a million followers on Instagram so it’s cool they’re up to their own thing but I do think they’re making it a bigger fight for me and him if they’re able to beat their next opponent and I’m able to get through mine, it will make it a bigger fight because people are like ‘What’s he up to? What’s wrong with him?’ And there’ll be eyes on his next fight.”

With Briedis building his social media presence and chasing celebrities and bigger names out of his weight class, does Okolie think he can tempt Briedis into a fight?

“We will see,” said the 2016 Olympian. “I think it will happen. I don’t think he’s scared. I think it’s about it making sense. If he’s able to get through his next fight and his mandatory I think me and him will meet, hopefully by then I’ll have two belts.”

Then, Okolie will move up to heavyweight and tackle the heavyweights. He’s not looking to wait, either, he wants to get amongst the big names who are out there today and not wait for the next generation.

“I’d like to get in the mix with this lot now, purely because I know and understand that they’re all around the same age with some slightly older,” he said. “Fighting young heavyweights doesn’t sound fun to me, so I’d rather get in with this current crop where everyone knows them and they’ve got big profiles and we can have some fun.”

Regardless, Okolie knows he has momentum to continue if he’s to get any of the big names in the ring. He’s turned his career around after the criticism he received for dull fights against Isaac Chamberlain and Matty Askin with a string of hard-hitting and far more aggressive perfromances. He’s found himself and become a lot more comfortable in a professional ring, and McGuigan must take some of the props for that.

It all means that Okolie can’t come unstuck against Cieslak, someone he has a lot of respect for.

“He does a lot of stuff well,” Lawrence admitted. “He’s a good fighter. He’s got a good jab, good workrate, good boxing ability, good experience, he was in the WSB, he’s been a pro for eight-plus years, he knows how to move around a boxing ring, he’s a good fighter and a top 10 if not top seven or eight fighter at the weigh so he’s always going to pose a threat but I think the difference is I have a few X-factors and he doesn’t, he’s just a good fighter.”

Okolie has felt the shift in public perception, too, even if he says he pays little mind to it. He’s happy running his own race and knows if the wins keep coming, so will the bouts he craves.

“I don’t really pay attention to it but I do feel I am getting more recognition,” concluded the 6ft 5ins 29-year-old. “Maybe it’s due to the world title, maybe it’s the manner I’m winning, maybe it’s Shane, maybe it’s the promotion I don’t know. I just know I have to maintain my current form because you’re only as good as your last fight. If I have a stinker on Sunday that’s what I’m going to be judged on so I’m going to go in there and box clever and that sets up the big shots.”

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