Okolie vs Cieslak LIVE: Round-by-round updates from the O2 Arena
Lawrence Okolie vs Michal Cieslak LIVE: Okolie is set to make the second defence of his cruiserweight world title against Michal Cieslak at the O2 Arena
- Okolie will be looking to defend his WBO cruiserweight title for a second time
- He is set to face Poland’s Michal Cieslak at the O2 Arena in London this evening
- Okolie’s heavy hands will carry a major threat as he possesses a greater reach
- READ: How to watch, undercard in full, fight records, what’s been said
Lawrence Okolie will be looking to defend his WBO cruiserweight title for a second time when he takes on Poland’s Michal Cieslak at the O2 Arena in London this evening.
Okolie will return to the ring for the first time since beating Dilan Prasovic on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in September.
The British boxer will face the experienced Cieslak – who only has one loss on his 22-bout record, with that coming against Ilunga Makubu.
Follow Sportsmail’s CHARLOTTE DALY for live coverage of Lawrence Okolie vs Michal Cieslak, including the build-up, round-by-round updates and reaction.
Host commentator
Yafai has come out the blocks flying. He landed a similar left through the guard that floored Carlo Paalam of the Philippines at the Olympics.
Six months after winning gold in the Tokyo Olympic Games…Galal Yafai is making his professional debut at London’s O2 Arena.
Yafai is fighting a 10-rounder against Carlos Bautista for the WBC International title. Stay tuned for updates on how he gets on…
Meanwhile, Campbell Hatton’s professional record extended to 6-0 after he beat Joe Ducker via stoppage in round six.
Personally, I think this was one of best performances as a professional boxer. He looked well conditioned and energised throughout. His punches had some real power behind them and he worked the ring well.
Fabio Wardley also beat Daniel Martz after the American was unable to continue in the second round of their fight on Sunday night.
As expected, Wardley got off to a slow start in the opening round. He struggled to find is groove before showcasing his power in the second round. The Ipswich fight sent Martz to the canvas early doors.
Martz sent to the canvas for a second time following a left-handed blow from Wardley. Shortly after, he signaled to his corner that he had a problem with his ear. As a result, the contest was brought to an end.
After winning his fight, Fowler took to social media to say: ‘Got 10 rounds under my belt tonight, some positives some negatives, got a lot to learn to get where I want in this sport but I’ll keep putting the work in everyday and give my self the best chance of succeeding, big thanks to my coach for all his help this camp’
It looked like it was all over for Gill. He was back into the corner, fighting for his life with blood pouring out of his battered eye. Guerfi was seconds away from defending his title and Gill’s trainer Dave Coldwell came close to throwing in the towel.
Then out of nowhere… Gill landed a sensational KO to win the fight. Guerfi required immediate medical attention after the heavy hit but was soon up and back in his corner.
It was Rocky-like stuff!
Anthony Fowler made a promising middleweight debut as he beat Lukasz Maciec, of Poland, via a unanimous decision.
It took Fowler a few rounds to find his rhythm, but once he did he seized control. His superior strength and conditioning won him the fight as Maciec tired in the final three rounds.
The judges called it: 99-93, 99-92 & 99-91
Shortly after his win…he took to the changing rooms to celebrate Liverpool’s win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.
Okolie has made no secret of his desire to move up to heavyweight in the future and become a two-weight world champion.
He previously said: ‘It depends how making weight goes. It’s going well at the moment and I’m at a better place than my last two camps.
‘But it will be interesting to see if the last couple of pounds are easy to take off or not.’
Meanwhile, Cieslak said: ‘It’s surely a big fight for Polish boxing, I can’t wait to actually attend the fight. I’m training very hard, and I can’t wait to fight.
‘He’s a very strong fighter and he punches with both hands, he’s very strong physically. I just have to do my work, all the training I’ve done with my coach, that’s what I’m going to bring to the ring.
‘If I wasn’t sure I was going to win, I wouldn’t be here, I’ve been training since I was 13 so I’m ready to get the WBO Title.’
Speaking ahead of this evening’s fight, Okolie previously said: ‘I believe on paper this could be one of the hardest fights. Until you actually get in the ring, you never know what someone’s got. Watching Cieslak’s fights, he’s a very good technical boxer. He’s got some power and good speed. All in all, it poses to be a very good challenging fight.
‘I believe I’m going to go on to unify the division. One of the main things that we focus on and try to keep fit is mindset. So I’m making sure that we practice the mind, practice the body, put yourself in interesting situations and hold yourself accountable. I’m ready for this. This is a stage that I was made for. This is a fight I was made for.
‘The main thing for me is that boxing is my true love. It’s my rocket fuel. If I’m not performing in the ring then none of this other stuff happens. So for me I find motivation being able to do a rap song. Being able to collaborate with companies that I’m fans of or supporters of.
‘Where I came from, without making it a sob story, to where I am right now it’s a blessing. And I want to hold onto that. My opponent here is to make amends, but I have to make sure that my journey continues in the direction that it’s going and we don’t have any hiccups.
‘As soon as a fight is made, Cieslak is the only thing I think of. I’ve got a picture of him in my room. I watched all of his interviews. I don’t understand any of them but I like to watch his mannerisms. I’ve watched all of his fights. I know him and that’s what I focus on. Michael Cieslak. After that, we can talk about everyone else.’
Nationality: Poland
Date of birth: April 19th, 1989
Height: 6′ 3″
Reach: 79″
Total fights: 23
Record: 21-1 (15 KOs)
Nationality: Great Britain
Date of birth: December 16th, 1992
Height: 6′ 5″
Reach: 82.5″
Total fights: 17
Record: 17-0 (14 KOs)
Okolie returned to London in January after training in Dubai with Anthony Joshua.
Discussing his short training block with AJ, Okolie previously said: ‘Yeah, we did some body sparring, nothing to the head really, just working on inside work, some techniques, just being physical as well, so it was good. I’m going to start sparring next week and then push on from there.’
Okolie saw off Prasovic comfortably in his first defence of his WBO cruiserweight title. Prasovic was the mandatory challenger and unbeaten, but nothing on his record suggested he was going to be a threat.
However, he wasn’t afraid to go at Okolie. Although, that may have been his downfall give the fact he overstretched in his shots.
Prasovic was hanging on in the third and final round before Okolie dropped him with a left to the body. Referee Steve Gary then counted him out at 1.57 of the round.
Okolie (17-0, 14 KOs) overcame Krzysztof Glowacki in six rounds to be crowned the new WBO Cruiserweight World Champion in his sixteenth fight at The SSE Arena, Wembley in March last year.
He then made light work of his first title defence against Montenegro’s Dilan Prasovic – taking him out inside three rounds during the blockbuster Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.
Lawrence Okolie will be looking to defend his WBO cruiserweight title for a second time when he takes on Poland’s Michal Cieslak at the O2 Arena in London this evening.
Okolie had hoped to be facing IBF champion Mairis Briedis in a unification clash…but a mandatory defence against Jai Opetaia scuppered those plans.
Nevertheless, Okolie has made it clear he is focused on tonight’s fight given the fact the Polish title contender has only lost once during his professional career.
That came when he took WBC Cruiserweight World Champion Ilunga Junior Makabu (28-2, 25KOs) the distance in January 2020.
Cieslak may have an impressive record…but it’s hard to look past Okolie’s thudding power and quick-fire shots.
The British boxer has an array of big shots that could catch Cieslak. He has also legitimately sharpened his game, meaning he doesn’t have to rely solely on dropping a big bomb.
Nevertheless, I am going Okolie via knockout.
Lawrence Okolie vs Michal Cieslak; WBO world cruiserweight title
Karim Guerfi vs Jordan Gill, European featherweight title
Galal Yafai vs Carlos Vado Bautista, WBC international flyweight title
Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Martz
Anthony Fowler vs Lukasz Maciec
Demsey McKean vs Ariel Esteban Bracamonte
Campbell Hatton vs Joe Ducker
John Hedges vs Aleksander Nagolski
Cheavon Clarke vs Toni Visic
Hello and welcome to Sportsmail’s coverage of the Lawrence Okolie and Michal Cieslak fight. II will be bringing you live updates including the build-up, round-by-round updates and reaction.
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