This Article was written by Joe Coleman and First Appeared On talkSPORT.com
Lawrence Okolie has been tipped to emulate mentor Anthony Joshua after knocking out Krzysztof Glowacki in the sixth round to claim the WBO cruiserweight crown at Wembley Arena.
The unbeaten Hackney fighter produced a controlled display as he became the first male member of Great Britain’s 2016 Olympics squad to claim a professional world title.
Okolie followed the game plan of trainer Shane McGuigan perfectly, cutting Glowacki above the eye in the fourth and then finishing off the Pole with an explosive right hook.
Glowacki’s only losses in his previous 33 professional fights came against world-class pair Oleksandr Usyk and Mairis Briedis, and he represented a significant step up in class for Okolie.
Okolie, though, set his stall out with an early strong right hand during the opening round, but then remained patient as he looked to control the fight from distance.
In the fourth, Glowacki’s chin was tested by a couple of telling jabs and right hooks as a cut opened above his right eye.
The Pole was struggling to find his range, and the end came in the sixth when he was put on his back by another destructive right from Okolie and counted out.
Joining talkSPORT for Fight Night on Saturday night, respected fight sports journalist Gareth A. Davies was seriously impressed with the skills he saw from ‘The Sauce’.
Having been inspired to quit McDonald’s and lose five stone after watching Joshua win Gold at London 2012, Davies believes the 28-year-old can emulate his hero after winning a world title in his 16th pro fight – just like ‘AJ’.
“The guy is on it,” Davies said on Fight Night. “And he showed it tonight.
“He’s having his purple patch; he has seen what Anthony Joshua has achieved, Joshua has taken canonical ownership of his own career and his life and he has been accountable for it all.
“And Lawrence Okolie, who is managed by Joshua’s management firm, is proving he can do the same.”
This Article was written by Joe Coleman and First Appeared On talkSPORT.com