Hackney boxer Lawrence Okolie will be travelling to Brazil as Olympic Qualifiers European Champion – and with very high profile support, as Manny Sarpong reports.
Lawrence Okolie has secured his spot in the Team GB Olympic squad in Rio this summer in stunning fashion – and a new world champion will be cheering him on.
Okolie’s friend, Anthony Joshua – new IBF World Heavyweight Champion, tweeted to congratulate him: “Unbelievable news from GBboxing, everyone is doing so well! Keep pushing! @Lawrence_tko #OkoliesOutTheCage.”
London 2012 women’s flyweight (48-51kg) gold medalist Nicola Adams also congratulated Okolie on qualifying, after she herself also successfully secured qualification after beating Norway’s Marielle Hansen to secure a spot in Rio.
Okolie defeated Azerbaijani heavyweight Abdulkadir Abdullayev on points over three rounds on Friday, before going on to win the European Qualifiers by default on Sunday when his opponent, France’s Paul Omba Biongolo, pulled out the finals through injury.
Speaking to Rising East after the fight, Okolie said: “I’m very excited to win the European Qualifiers. I’m looking forward to Rio, it’ll be an opportunity for me to showcase my skills as a boxer and prove to world what I can do.”
Winning Streak
The 23-year-old led the way as eight British boxers earned places at this summer’s Rio Games with wins at the European qualifying event in Samsun, Turkey.
The former UEL student has been in fine form, maintaining a winning streak throughout the qualifiers, defeating all three of his opponents. The boxer previously defeated Roy Korving of the Netherlands on a split decision.
The Hackney-born athlete has been making a real name for himself in the boxing world, having competed in tournaments in the United States and Mexico earlier this year. He has on occasions trained with champion Joshua.
Okolie attended UEL from 2013 to 2015 on the university’s high performance scholarship programme, before leaving to pursuit his Olympic dreams, which are now one step closer to becoming a reality.