Boxing News: Lawrence Okolie and David Light make weight for Saturday’s WBO cruiserweight world title bout at Manchester’s AO Arena.
Okolie is a large cruiserweight, yet he weighed in at 14st 4lbs. He had a heavyweight frame, but he made weight without incident. “I’m OK,” he said quietly. “I’ve set up a fantastic camp.”
Light, a laid-back persona, has quipped that people in New Zealand don’t believe him when he claims to be a boxer. When he weighed 14st 2lbs 5oz, he looked like a prizefighter.
Okolie, the WBO champion, possesses Okolie’s stature, reach, and range, but Light didn’t appear intimidated when they squared off in the final round.
“Take a nap, then get that belt,” Light said. “You step into the ring, and everything is the same. You go in there and do what needs to be done.
“Whatever happens, I’m going to give it my all,” he continued. “You have to be hungry for it, and that’s what I have.”
Okolie, on the other hand, plans to use his punching power in the bout. His last forecast: a “mid-round stoppage.”
On the undercard, Frazer Clarke, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, takes on Bogdan Dinu.
After Clarke’s original opponent, Rydell Booker became extremely ill, the Romanian stepped in.
Dinu, who has previously sparred with former world champion Anthony Joshua, was at his fighting weight of 17st 10lbs.
Clarke [19st 5lbs] has previously been in camp with him, but they have never sparred.
“He’s arrived, I’ve seen him before, he’s a good boxer,” Clarke explained. “He’s made of the proper material; he came and did fantastic work for AJ, but I know what I’m capable of.”
Michael Gomez Jr [9st 4lbs], the son of Manchester fighter Michael Gomez, arrived at the Love Factory for the weigh-in on Friday to find supporters dressed in sombreros roaring him on. He drew strength from the reception as he crossed the stage, arms wide.
But he was too revved up for his English title bout against Levi Giles [9st 2lbs 5oz] and knocked him off his feet as soon as they met.
Giles landed with a thud, but he laughed it off and quickly rose.
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