GRANDMASTER Lawrence Okolie was crowned cruiserweight WBO king by battering Krzysztof Glowacki into checkmate.
The 28-year-old former McDonald’s worker spent valuable moments before his 16th pro fight playing chess with brilliant trainer Shane McGuigan.
And it paid off when he made the awkward southpaw Pole a pawn in his game of collecting all of the 14st 4lbs titles.
The Anthony Joshua-managed Hackney hero was working in Maccie D’s just nine years ago but is now a world champ with a plan to move up to heavyweight in 2022.
The 6ft Pole had such a wide stance and dipped so low that Okolie’s 5in height advantage looked almost twice as big.
The Hackney man pinged out a rasping jab, the essential shot he has been criticised for neglecting, and landed an early right hook around Glowacki’s left earhole.
Okolie whipped a couple of right hooks into Glowacki’s gut in the second but the tough visitor sucked the blows up and tried a few clubbing counters.
The 2016 Team GB Olympian controlled the third through his giant wingspan, with Glowacki unable to get inside to attack.
Southpaw Glowacki kept trying to step on Okolie’s orthodox lead left foot and the Englishman did the same back in a cat-and-mouse dance game.
Okolie stunned Glowacki at the end of the fourth, when a howitzer of a right hand stiffened the visitor.
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A gash over Glowacki’s right eye opened up and he was pawing blood out of his eyesight as he tried to recover from a couple of violent punches.
Okolie won the fifth with the better footwork and a pinpoint jab that the former world champ could not dodge nor deflect.
The whole right side of Glowacki’s face was caked in blood by the end of the session, so it was little surprise when he left a bit of afters on Okolie as the bell rang to end another session the Londoner had banked.
And just 30 seconds into the sixth Oklie rammed a right-handed piledriver into Glowacki that crumbled him into the canvas and although he beat the count, he was waved off before being seriously hurt.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
