LAWRENCE OKOLIE beat Lukasz Rozanski in the first round to win the WBC bridgerweight title. Okolie landed flush right hand after flush right hand and floored Rozanksi three times before the referee waved the fight off with just five seconds left of the first round.
Ring-walk time: 10pm BST
Stream: Sky Sports Arena
Okolie shows true punch power
In this new weight division, bridgerweight, it is designed to fill the gap between cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Okolie showed that his punching stands him in good stead for going up to the heavyweight class but he needs to be able to take those big hits also.
He was dropped three times in his last fight and although was not tested tonight, he will need to work on that in the future.
You won’t knock everyone out in the first round after all.
Copy linkCopiedRozanski claims ‘rabbit punch’ ruined fight
Lukasz Rozanski continued to keep tapping his gloves to the back of his head, even after the fight had been called.
The champion appeared to reference a punch to the back of the head during a clinch with Okolie.
Whether it affected him enough to cost him the fight is highly debatable as he was rocked by each of the three punches Okolie threw to knock him to the canvas.
Copy linkCopiedOkolie answers critics in Poland
It was a good performance from Lawrence Okolie as he looked to bring the fireworks to the champion from the off.
He was landing good punches and it was evident his opponent was not a boxer used to receiving such big hits in such an accurate way.
The final punch that won the fight, a huge uppercut really hurt Rozanski and the referee made the right choice in stopping the fight.
Copy linkCopiedLawrence Okolie wins by TKO
Copy linkCopiedLawrence Okolie vs Lukasz Rozanski (Round 1)
Both fighters start in an attacking fashion.
Rozanski complains that he is punched in the back of the head as they come together.
Okolie drops his opponent three times in the first round in a matter of 60 seconds.
The referee after the third fall decides enough is enough.
Copy linkCopiedMain event about to get underway
As you would expect there is a massive following for the champion.
We are now having the national anthems as ‘God Save The King’ plays.
There is nobody singing whatsoever, not even in the ring, maybe not big fans of this tune.
Copy linkCopiedTrainer measuring ring in venue
Joe Gallagher has been out with his tape measure checking the dimensions of the ring.
Sky Sports interviewed him to see why he felt the need to do so….
Copy linkCopiedUndercard results from Poland
With only the main attraction remaining, here are the results from the undercard:
Fiodor Cherkashyn beats Jorge Cota (Round 7 stoppage)
Ihosvany Garcia beats Lukasz Plawecki (Round 2 stoppage)
Jan Czerklewicz beats Paul Valenzuela (Points)
Kamil Slendak beats Daniel Plonka (Round 2 stoppage)
Tobiasz Zarzeczny beats Daniel Przewieslik (Points)
Copy linkCopiedBillam-Smith puts doubt on Okolie
Going into his last fight, Lawrence Okolie was full of confidence that he could get a pivotal win to propel his boxing career.
Instead, after being knocked down three times, losing the fight has seriously set his career back.
You have to wonder if he does not win this evening, whether it may be the end of the road for the British boxer.
Credit: Reuters
Copy linkCopiedWin or bust for Brit boxer
Lawrence Okolie has not been in the ring for almost exactly 12 months.
The creation of this division and subsequent title has given him a chance that he did not expect to come along again.
After his defeat in his last fight, Okolie can answer his critics if he can beat Rozanski in his own back yard.
Copy linkCopiedRozanski comes in as underdog
Despite his impressive career record, many pundits are expecting a knockout victory for Okolie.
All of this off the back of his last fight, where he himself hit the canvas three times.
With his ferocious attacking boxing, it is seen that Okolie will just have too much for the Polish boxer.
Copy linkCopiedPole yet to taste defeat in career
Lukasz Rozanski is unbeaten in his boxing career to date.
Only two of his previous fights have even seen the sixth round.
Fighting on home soil, it would be a big statement with a knockout win against Lawrence Okolie.
Copy linkCopiedFight to draw big TV audience
It is rare in the boxing world now that fights are not on pay-per-view subscriptions or random channels that nobody subscribes to.
Tonight, the main event fight will be shown on Sky Sports.
However, they do not see fit to fill their schedule with any of the undercard bouts.
Copy linkCopiedBrit with point to prove
Despite getting a majority decision in his last fight against Chris Billam-Smith, Okolie was knocked down three times in the bout.
Many people have questioned his boxing abilities as a result.
Tonight’s fight gives him the chance to his the restart button on his boxing career.
Copy linkCopiedChamp ready for battle on new territory
Okolie has spoken about the threat of his opponent tonight:
I’m expecting it to be very hostile but I’ll just blank it out. If anything, this particular fight is going to fuel me, especially the way I feel like I need to and want to fight. I know what he’s going to come with, we’ve seen it 15 times, he goes all out, I’ll show him he’s in there with a different animal. I’m looking forward to the boos and getting in there and getting it done vicious.Lawrence OkolieWBC bridgerweight contender
Copy linkCopiedOkolie looking for big knockout
Lawrence Okolie is certainly not looking for this fight to go the distance.
He has had 14 stoppages from his 19 wins so far in his career.
However, Rozanski has won 14 of his 15 fights by knockout so there should be no danger of a points division in this fight.
Copy linkCopiedJoe seeing positives from new division
Lawrence Okolie’s trainer, Joe Gallagher has spoken about this bridgerweight contest tonight:
It’s a good idea of how he will cope at heavyweight without having to go up to that division. It’s a chance [to] get that WBC belt and put himself back on the boxing map.Joe GallagherOkolie coach
Copy linkCopiedWelcome to Okolie vs Rozanski
Lawrence Okolie is fighting Lukasz Rozanski for the WBO Bridgerweight title in Poland this evening.
This is a newly created division by the WBC to bridge the gap between cruiserweight and heavyweight.
For Okolie, it is a chance for him to prepare for the heavyweight fighting class.
It is a chance for him to put himself back on the boxing map with victory in Europe tonight.
This would make Okolie a two-weight world champion, in his first fight for almost a year.
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