Lawrence Okolie Added To Queensberry Promotions’ Growing Heavyweight Roster
‘Sauce’ hopes to bring a new flavor to the Hall of Fame promoter’s stable.
Queensberry Promotions has announced the signing of former two-tier prospect Lawrence Okolie. The rumored union was confirmed on Friday, and the 2016 Olympian was eager to prove his worth among the sport’s deep heavyweight stable.
Okolie won titles at cruiserweight and—for those celebrating the division—bridgerweight. He relinquished the WBC title to enter a division with a lot of boxing history. It was a natural progression to go along with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren.
“Only one place,” Okolie insisted. “If you’re a heavyweight in Britain or the world, it’s the Warrens. They have the best up and coming heavyweights, the best current heavyweights and the best on their way out.
“So it’s the place to be, for me.”
Hackney’s Okolie previously fought under the Matchroom Boxing and BOXXER banners.
He won the WBO cruiserweight title under Matchroom and made three successful defenses. Another came under BOXXER, as did his title-eliminating loss to Chris Billam-Smith last May.
Okolie bounced back 53 weeks later to claim his next title. A first round knockout of Lukasz Rozanski saw Okolie capture the WBC bridgeweight title.
His reign was short-lived, as at the age of 31 he chose to gain weight.
Warren has competed in the heavyweight division over the years. His growing roster includes two-time champion Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) and IBF champion Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs).
“I am very excited to add Lawrence to our growing heavyweight ranks here in Queensberry,” said Warren. “I fully expect him to increase our success in the tent category. Lawrence has all the qualities to make a big impact at heavyweight.
“He will be happy to be relieved of the burden of losing weight, allowing his natural talent and strength to shine. There are a lot of exciting fights and options available for Lawrence and I look forward to getting him started again.”
This move breathed new life into Okolie’s career. His relationship with Matchroom ended on a sour note. Things with BOXXER seemed to be going well but the deal with Queensberry gives Okolie a price boost.
“It has gone through different stages in my career,” Okolie noted. “I needed to find a home that would be able to handle this next period, until the end of my career, which is a heavyweight’s dream of becoming a threeweight world champion.”
