Lawrence Okolie - Boxing Lookout

Lawrence Okolie

The Sauce

Record 22-1 (16 KOs)
Age 33
Weight Class Heavyweight
Stance Orthodox
Nationality British

Bio

Lawrence Okolie — 'The Sauce' — is the Hackney-born two-weight world champion who has spent his career proving sceptics wrong. He came to boxing late, got laughed at for being too tall and too awkward, then went and won an Olympic place for Team GB at Rio 2016 and a WBO cruiserweight world title as a pro.

Born on 16 December 1992 in Hackney, London, Okolie stands at 6'5" with a frame that was always going to outgrow cruiserweight eventually. He held the WBO cruiserweight world title from 2021 to 2023 — a reign that was often more functional than fun, but a world title reign nonetheless — before moving up. He picked up the WBC bridgerweight title in 2024 and is now properly campaigning at heavyweight.

At heavyweight he's been busy and effective. He outboxed Kevin Lerena over ten rounds at Wembley to take a wide unanimous decision, and stopped Ebenezer Tetteh in two rounds in Lagos via corner retirement — a one-sided beating that shows his style translates up in weight. Currently ranked WBC #1 at heavyweight.

The big news is the WBC has ordered Okolie vs Moses Itauma as a final eliminator. That's a proper crossroads fight — the experienced two-weight world champion against the 20-year-old prodigy. Make no mistake: Okolie's style isn't pretty, but his ring IQ and physical advantages make him a horrible night for anyone. If you sleep on him because of the awkward boxing, that's on you.