Lawrence Okolie has long spoken of Anthony Joshua as being a source of inspiration.
Four years after Joshua won gold at the London Olympics, Okolie traveled to Brazil to box in the Rio Olympics.
Now, however, both are heavyweight contenders and potential rivals.
“I would fight him happily,” Okolie told BoxingScene. “In fact, who doesn't want to fight someone that they believe they can beat and get paid millions to do it? I would love that fight, but I think that one now would have to come with a world title. I don't think they're just going to do that fight willy-nilly. I think, if Fabio Wardley and AJ box, it wouldn’t be a massive shock to the world because he now has a WBO world title, him beating Fabio Wardley. And if I was able to pick up a WBC belt, then it’s like you can kind of call for any fight. I think that there’s some fights right now because of the economics. I never screamed for Tyson Fury, I never screamed for [Oleksandr] Usyk, I never screamed for AJ and those guys because I’m quite realistic in my steps when I’m maneuvering.
“I think Usyk, say [Okolie] beating Moses [Itauma] or whoever for the final eliminator, I’m now allowed to say, ‘I’ve got this piece of paper and it says I’m ordered, bring me to the table.’ Without that piece of paper, I’m just another boxer just saying I want to box the biggest fighters. It’s going to come, but it’s going to come with some wins. So we’re almost there.”
A more logical route, however, would be for the WBC No. 1 Okolie to face WBC interim titleholder Agit Kabayel, who is scheduled to box Damian Knyba next month in Germany. Okolie and Kabayel are both promoted by Queensberry.
“Agreed,” Okolie said. “That’s one I’ve obviously told them behind the scenes – I said over and over again – I want to happen. I genuinely thought it was going to be me and him mandated or it was going to be him mandated for Usyk and then I’ll be the next one up. But that didn’t happen.
“If, for example, I got the final eliminator against whoever I win and then they say it’s me versus Usyk and I get to skip the queue, I’m going to skip the queue happily because that’s what’s been permitted. But if it’s, let’s say Usyk, relinquishes, then he becomes full champion and then I’m mandatory for him. So whatever happens, I kind of see him as the world heavyweight title fight I’m going to need to win, because I can’t see Usyk necessarily defending against me. But you never know. But for me, anyway, my ideal year would be Moses and Usyk, but it will likely be Moses and Kabayel.”
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
