UEL alumni Lawrence Okolie has notched up a perfect 14-0(11 KO’s) since joining the pro ranks in 2017 and has become one of the countries most talked about prospects in the process. Rising East caught up with Okolie’s Strength and Conditioning Coach Duncan Ogilvie as well as Boxing Writer Adam Abramowitz to reveal all there is to know about Hackney’s heavy hitter.

Stats

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Name: Lawrence ‘The Sauce’ Okolie

Age: 27

Record: 14-0

Division: Cruiserweight

Stance:Orthodox

Height:6″5

Reach:82.5 inches

Amateur Credentials:Rio 2016 Olympian, World Series of Boxing competitor

Professional Titles: WBA Continental, Commonwealth, British and European Champion.

Early Life

Born and raised in Hackney, London, Okolie didn’t have the easiest childhood. The oldest sibling of four was forced to fend off bullies at his school in Stoke Newington, telling The Independent, “Yeah, I was bullied. I was overweight, I worked in McDonald’s, but it was all part of my journey.”

In 2010, Okolie began to make changes. He began boxing at the age of 17 and by the time the 2012 Olympics in London came around he was hooked.

He continued his path until in 2014 he was offered a sports scholarship at the University of East London to join their sports programme. It was there where he met Duncan Ogilvie, the university’s Director of Strength and Conditioning Coaching. The pair joined forces and immediately clicked, with Lawrence breezing through the BUCS Championships of 2014. Speaking on the occasion, Ogilvie said his talent was recognised from the start.

“I met Lawrence at the end of 2014, I was made aware of his potential by several people who understood boxing. He won the BUCS Championship pretty convincingly and he was asked to join the GB Boxing set up shortly after.”

“After this, he was on the radar for the Olympics in Rio but to qualify was a very tall order, one which he handled very well.”

Handled very well indeed. Lawrence travelled to Samsun, Turkey and won five fights in the space of a week to book a seat on the plane to Rio to be part of a team that included the likes of Nicola Adams and Joe Joyce.

Although the Olympics didn’t go exactly to plan for Okolie, losing out in the second round to eventual bronze medallist and amateur stalwart Erislandy Savon, it provided him with the chance to showcase himself on the biggest stage in amateur boxing, a stage which had the eyes of promoter Eddie Hearn.

Professional Beginnings

After a brief rest from competition, in January 2017, Okolie announced he had joined the professional ranks, signing a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing in the process. Okolie began in brutal fashion, winning his first four fights with first round stoppages.

Okolie continued to rise and in February 2018, he headlined his first show, taking on fellow Londoner Isaac Chamberlain at the O2 Arena.

Critics

Despite winning in fairly comfortable fashion, it was here that Okolie began to receive some critics. One of these critics was American boxing writer Adam Abramowitz.

“Okolie has tremendous size and reach for the Cruiserweight division, but he doesn’t have natural boxing instincts. Many of his fights are awkward to watch and lack fluidity.”

But as much as he sees problems, Adam also acknowledge the potential in Okolie.

“He does have power including a good right hand. He’s one of those guys that no one will want to face unless they have to. He will make opponents look bad and is tough to beat.”

Ogilvie himself has noted the criticism, but insists Okolie is working on improving and isn’t listening to outside voices.

“He gets a lot of criticism, some justified as he has had ugly fights but he wont those fights easily and it’s usually opponents making them ugly by not engaging. The issue is if someone engages with Lawrence they will lose and get stopped. The tactics are obvious from opponents but he is learning to adapt his skill and eliminate negative tactics.”

“He is very confident and has taken a lot of online abuse but he just focuses on the voices he needs to hear.”

A New Coach

One of those voices is new coach Shane McGuigan, son of legend Barry and accomplished trainer in his own right. The pair joined forces in May of last year and speaking on the link-up, Ogilvie thinks its been a huge positive.

“Shane is a proven coach at world level and understands what Lawrence needs to do, not only to win world titles but to win them in style. All Lawrence needs to do now is listen, train hard and focus on what’s important.”

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Future World Champion?

What is important to Okolie now is continued progress. Winning the European Title last time out against Yves Ngabu has Okolie on the brink of a world title shot and Abramowitz thinks it’s possible for Okolie to make it at the top level.

“He lacks a couple fundamentals to beat some of the top guys at Cruiserweight of a few years ago like Usyk and Lebedev, but the division has cleared out somewhat and it’s not as deep as it once was, I can see him winning a title against the right opponent.”

Ogilvie is far more confident. “Lawrence will win a world title before the end of the year and will hopefully have the opportunity to win more than one. It’s inevitable he will move to heavyweight but not until he leaves his mark on the Cruiserweight world scene.”

Coronavirus may have halted Okolie’s progress for now, but both his team and Okolie himself are ready for an attack of the Cruiserweight elite.

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