Former WBO cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie was impressed by Jake Paul in sparring, as Paul prepared for the fight of his life against Anthony Joshua.
Heavyweight contender Okolie, the WBC’s No. 1 who boxes in Nigeria on an Amir Khan promotion on Sunday, was in camp with Paul and was surprised by what he witnessed.
Whether Paul can convert that to success in the ring in Miami on Netflix on Friday remains to be seen.
“I’m hoping that the occasion doesn’t get to Jake and he’s able to show what he was showing us all in the gym over these last couple of weeks,” said Okolie. “If he is, then it’s going to be quite an interesting fight for people to watch. I think people will be quite shocked by it. However, like, I’ve always got that thing of just like 10-ounce gloves on fight night with, you’ve got a six-foot-six guy with six packs and quads and arms and all of these, just this super intimidating and imposing person. If you’re not ready to kind of execute because of the fear of what he’s doing, you’re going to get hurt badly early. But if you’re able to show out what you were doing in the gym, it would be fun.”
Asked whether he’d been surprised by what he saw in the gym with Paul, Okolie replied emphatically, “A hundred percent. I remember the first time I landed [in Florida] in the evening and we were going to spar the next day and I spoke to the coach, I pulled him to the side. ‘Hey, listen, what per cent? [How hard should he go]’ He genuinely looked confused by what I was saying. I was like, ‘What per cent do you want me to go? Do you know what I mean? Should I walk him through? Should I left turn? Should I do this?’ He said, ‘Do what you do. Like, go do what you do.’ I said, ‘Do what I do?’ And the guy had seen me before, because I used to train in Sugar [Hill]'s gym or a gym where Sugar was. I’d seen this coach, so he’s obviously seen what I can do, like in the gym and whatever else. So I was just like, ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Then I went in and did what I did. And I was pleasantly surprised by his grit and he’s got a boxing brain and like, I couldn't just have my way with him. I couldn’t just go in there and just go left, right. I couldn’t just do what I wanted. I had to kind of earn punches and I had to go through the levels to get to a point where I could show out. Like, because obviously there’s always the pressure on me as well. I don’t care what he does with those other two guys [in sparring]. I’m the two-time world champion. So there’s certain shots I don’t want him landing or stuff that I want the spot to look a certain way. I had to really go up there to create the vibe that I wanted. But then, every day to his credit, he would come and learn off the day before or the two days before. I got to a rhythm where I was like, I could just do this one day and the next day he's come and working. I do think physical and mental are two different things, right? Physically, he’s obviously a good athletic guy. I think he’s really smart as a person and that translates into his boxing ability. So he’s able to pick up stuff quickly. I might be in the spar and I'd say, ‘You're doing X or Y or whatever,’ or something that comes with experience, like circling, like back to the centre or just little habits. And it’s like, ‘Bro, you’d be in a much better position if you did this’, like, ‘oh, you would have landed that if you'd just done this.’
“And then it got to a point where I couldn't even be talking through [things] because I’m too busy sparring. So that's when I started saying, ‘Okay, let’s go. Hats off to him, he’s doing his job. I’m just hoping that he’s able to showcase it. But it’s boxing. It’s not sprinting, like run as far as you can in a straight line. I could be the best technician in the world. But the guy hits you in the wrong place at the wrong time and then all that technique’s gone. And it's like you never got to show it. So that’s what I'm like. Is he going to be able to show it or is he [Joshua] going to get on top of him too quickly? I don’t know.”
