Lawrence Okolie’s Boxxer debut has been announced, as he will take on mandatory challenger David Light on March 25th at the Manchester Arena.
The WBO cruiserweight champion’s future had been up in the air for almost the entirety of 2022 and he has not been in action since last February.
However, that all now appears to be behind Okolie and, judging by his interview with Sky Sports, his confidence doesn’t appear to have taken any sort of a dent
“I’ll make Light work of him.”
“I know that Sky and BOXXER are going to deliver as long as I deliver in the ring. I’ve got to make sure I beat David Light and then beat whoever is next.”
“It’s good to be back and I’m looking forward to the first step in the journey towards unifications and more world titles.”
Alongside potential unification bouts, there are huge domestic clashes on the table for Okolie, with the Chris Billam Smith and Richard Riakhpore both with the same promoter and broadcaster.
And Boxxer boss Ben Shalom did little to hide his excitement at the prospect of such fights – but emphasised that Okolie cannot afford to overlook David Light.
“We’re heading back to our spiritual home of Manchester and we’re bringing ‘The Sauce.’
“Lawrence Okolie’s wait to get back inside a ring has been well documented. But I’m delighted to see a proper British elite fighter defending his world title on home soil.
“The cruiserweight division is arguably the most exciting weight class in the sport right now and it is full of domestic stars who are clamouring to be crowned king. Lawrence sits at the top of that mountain – and he’s planning on keeping it that way when he takes on a very dangerous challenger in David Light who Impressively best Brandon Glanton last time out.”
Jack Catterall and Frazer Clarke are the two highlights of the undercard thus far for next month, although there has been no confirmation of either’s opponents as of yet.