Lawrence Okolie To Defend Bridgerweight World Title Against Kevin Lerena

July 12, 2024
4 months
Lawrence Okolie is set to defend his WBC bridgerweight title against Kevin Lerena

Lawrence Okolie appears to be staying at bridgerweight for the time being after reports claim the British fighter will defend his WBC world title against mandatory challenger Kevin Lerena.

Okolie (20-1-0 15 KO) became a two-weight world champion in May when he knocked out Lukasz Rozanski in the first round of their title bout in Poland. It was the Londoner’s first fight since losing his WBO cruiserweight world title to Chris Billam-Smith in Bournemouth, England 12 months earlier.

There had been suggestions from Okolie’s camp that he could make an immediate move up to heavyweight, but according to Boxing News, an agreement has been reached to fight the WBC’s interim bridgerweight champion Lerena next.

Lerena (30-3-0 14 KO) should be a level below Okolie but the South African will bring into the ring plenty of experience and was close to claiming a monumental shock victory over Daniel Dubois in 2022.

Lerena Almost Shocked Dubois

On that night in London, Lerena had Dubois in serious trouble in the first round, sending ‘Dynamite’ to the canvas three times to put himself on the brink of a huge upset. Dubois, now the IBF heavyweight world champion, ultimately recovered to put the South African away in the third round.

Since then, Lerena has fought three times, earning points wins over Ryad Mehry and Senad Gashi, before a points loss to Justis Huni in a bout for the vacant WBO Global heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in March.

Even in defeat to Huni, the 32-year-old South African displayed his power, rocking his Australian opponent in the last 90 seconds of the 10th round to leave Huni in total survival mode until the final bell. Lerena also earned plenty of praise for going ahead with the fight the same week his mother died.

There had been talk about Okolie possibly fighting former WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder at bridgerweight, but that speculation appears to have cooled in recent weeks.

Okolie Expected To Move To Heavyweight

Wilder, once a formidable power puncher, has lost four of his last five fights and three by knockout. He lost twice by stoppage to Tyson Fury, and after a brief return to form with a first-round KO of Robert Helenius, was bullied for 12 rounds by Joseph Parker. Most recently, the Bronze Bomber was knocked out in the fifth round by Zhilei Zhang as part of the 5-vs-5 event in Riyadh in June.

Still, Wilder carries a big reputation so a fight at bridgerweight – where his natural fighting weight would make him eligible – against Okolie would have had plenty of appeal.

As it is, Okolie will fight Lerena next ahead of an eventual move to heavyweight. The 31-year-old British fighter had been expected to fight the WBA’s bridgerweight champion Evgeny Tishchenko in an undisputed bout (only the WBC and WBA have titles in the division), but the Russian was stripped of the belt after testing positive for a banned substance.

No dates or locations have yet been announced for Okolie’s bout with Lerena, although it is expected to be in the United Kingdom.

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