Lawrence Okolie’s Dominant KO Victory: What Could be Next for ‘The Sauce’ in Bridgerweight and Beyond

On Friday, May 24, Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs) emphatically defeated Lukasz Rozanski (15-1, 14 KOs) via first-round KO to win the WBC bridgerweight world title at the Podpromie Arena in Rzeszow, Poland. The entire card was shown live on Sky Sports for those in the UK. Following the Brit becoming a two-weight world champion, attention now turns to what could be the next fight for “The Sauce” after his dominant performance in Poland.

Lawrence Okolie Next Fight: What’s Next for ‘The Sauce’

Lawrence Okolie vs. Lukasz Rozanski Recap

“The Sauce” started fast and on the front foot, getting behind his jab and letting the right hand go almost at will. He was mixing his shots well in the opening round before dropping the Pole with a counter right hand. The home fighter was up quickly, but Okolie looked in a different league as he nailed Rozanski with a huge right hand, which knocked the Polish fighter down once more.

Despite a complaint, he was hit behind the head – the referee allowed the fight to continue and scored it a knockdown. The fighters engaged once more with the end in sight – Okolie landed a big uppercut that nailed Rozanski, which led to the referee waving the fight off and making the Brit a two-weight world champion.

After the fight, Okolie spoke about the victory: “This was the best moment in boxing for me, I’m super happy.” He continued: “New weight, putting the KO back in Okolie.”

Lawrence Okolie Next Fight Possibilities

Speaking after the victory, Okolie‘s trainer Joe Gallagher discussed about his fighter unifying at bridgerweight: “I’d like to see a unification, there’s a WBA unification fight there,“ said Gallagher.

The mandatory fight at this weight would be Kevin Lerena, who bravely lost last time out against Justis Huni on the “Knockout Chaos” undercard. Lerena is tough as proven against Huni, where he took some heavy shots but also showed he carries plenty of power.

Intriguingly Okolie has spoken in the past about moving to heavyweight in the future, mentioning Dillian Whyte‘s name. Gallagher also touched on a move to heavyweight for the Brit: “There are smaller heavyweights there like Deontay Wilder, Lawrence is at those kind of weights.” He added: “It’s got to be a natural progression but I’d like to see him unify this first.”

“He’s full of energy, he can come back into the gym on Monday.”

Whether it’s more bridgerweight or a new journey at heavyweight, this latest win for Okolie has breathed new life into his career that was severely halted by the loss to Chris Billam-Smith. Okolie had to bounce back in style, and he did.