Lukasz Rozanski vs Lawrence Okolie

By James Blears

Hard hitting World Boxing Council Bridgerweight Champion Lukasz Rozanski defends his belt for the first time against Hackney’s Lawrence “The Octopus” Okolie on Friday May 24^th at the Hala na Podpromiu Arena in his hometown of Rzeszow, Poland.

There’s a stark and striking reason Lukasz has ended fourteen of his fifteen professional bouts via stoppage. He fights flat out and non-stop. He possesses real power, especially via his right hook. He doesn’t like to stray far from home. All of his fights thus far, have been in Poland. This one is in the place he was born, raised and lives. He’s on home turf in front of his own adoring fans, who will be cheering him on for this Voluntary Defense.

He minces opponents, but seldom words, bluntly stressing: “I’m defending my title in my own back yard, fighting a former world champion. For moments like this, I’ve trained hard all of my life!”

The visitor and the challenger is Lawrence Okolie, with a record of 19-1, 14 KO’s. Lawrence has been British, Commonwealth and European Cruiserweight champion. He is also the former WBO Cruiserweight Champion. His official nickname is “The Sauce.”

He explains: “At the beginning of my career and as part of an analogy, I said that boxing is like a burger. And, the most important ingredient is the sauce. That’s how you give it your own special flavor.”

Lawrence has also less flatteringly been dubbed “The Octopus.” He often hits and then clinches. It’s part of his style. In his most recent fight against Chris “The Gentleman” Billam- Smith, in which he lost his title by MD, Referee Marcus McDonnell repeatedly warned him about holding, before deducting a point in round five and then in round seven.

He also visited the canvass in the fourth, tenth and eleventh. Chris caught him with a peach of a counter left hook in the fourth, as he was moving in, and it took him some time to regain his equilibrium after he got up. The other two knockdowns were scrappier, coming out of inevitable clinches, but they all count.

Moving up in weight and strolling into Rozanski’s lair, Lawrence is aiming to more than hold his own, boldly saying: “I’m excited to go to Poland and again test myself away from home. Rosanski is a good champion with an explosive style, but he has never felt power like mine.”

What a sauce! And so the saying goes: “What’s sauce for the goose…is sauce for the gander.” So… let’s take a closer “Gander.”

In winning the vacant WBC title also in Rzeszow, Lukasz steam rollered over previously undefeated Croatian fighter Alen Babic in 2.10 of round one, with Referee Lupe Garcia, saving Al. All in all, it happened so quickly. He was knocked down with a mighty right hook, somehow managing  to get up to receive an eight standing count. Another booming right wobbled him and he was  pummeled  non- stop, until the merciful and timely intervention. It transpired in little more than the flash of the eyelash, but non the less, the mauling was impressive. It put the lid on things.

To win, Lawrence must use his height and reach matador style, to fend off the champion who exudes bull like strength, and to utilize his vaunted long right, to good effect. He’s a towering six feet five inches tall, with an albatross wingspan reach of eighty two and a half inches, compared to Lukasz who’s a robust and compact six feet one inches tall with a reach of seventy four inches.

Too much clinching this time, will get Lawrence disqualified. Aged thirty one, he’s seven years younger than Lukasz and this could be a telling factor, if the fight extends past a likely explosive outset. Lawrence has a powerful upper body, but rather skinny legs. If we glance back in history, this certainly didn’t do “Ruby” Bob Fitzsimmons any harm. He won world championships at middle, heavyweight and the then newly created light heavyweight division.

Lawrence does have power of his own. In winning the WBO Cruiserweight title he cut Krzysztof Glowacki over the right eye and KO’d him with a right hook in the sixth round. He successfully defended it three times, before the loss to Chris Billam-Smith, in Chris’ home town of Bournemouth.  Now he’s going to fight in the Champion’s home town and that champion is in a heavier division. It’s a daunting prospect.

As usual Lukasz will be aiming to finish things early, bring down the curtain, switch off the lights and be tucked up in bed before midnight. Lawrence must box and punch pick perfectly, to “Drag” this fight into the later stages. To clinch victory he must avoid too much holding and hugging. The fans are on tenterhooks rather than tentacles!