Lawrence Okolie intends to face Oleksandr Usyk | ‘It will be interesting to see how he treats me’ | boxing news

Lawrence Okolie stated at the weigh-in that he would seek an early stoppage against Chris Billam-Smith.

That would be an emphatic statement.

He could also propel Okolie, a towering 6-foot-5 cruiserweight, up to heavyweight.

“If I stop Chris fast and good, I’ll probably start thinking about moving up to heavyweight,” Okolie said. sky sports.

“At this point, I’ve had how many defenses, very easy, lemon squeezer type things. I’m running out of need to keep losing weight. Might as well try something different and get bigger and enjoy.”

Okolie’s WBO cruiserweight championship is on the line when he fights Billam-Smith at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth on Saturday night, live on sky sports.

If he retains that belt, moving up would put him in position to fight for the WBO heavyweight title.

That would mean he could eventually force a shot at unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.

“When I say that I have my own aspirations, I mean it. These guys here are like, ‘Oh, I want to win a world title.’ I have done. I have defended it. But I have other things I want to do,” Okolie said. “So this is just another stop.

“It’s just that I stop in someone else’s backyard, but I’m still on my way to where I want to go.”

Usyk is a modern great. He was a cruiserweight champion, like Okolie, but was undisputed at 200 pounds and won the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles when he beat Anthony Joshua.

Okolie hasn’t reached that level of achievement, but he would love to take on Usyk.

“I want to see. I want to see how he deals with my discomfort, also with my athleticism, I would really like to see,” Okolie said.

“He’s a cruiserweight who’s moved up, so he’s a little different now, a little slower and a little stronger. So it’ll be interesting to watch. Like I say, we’ll take it one day at a time.”

On this day, Okolie’s task is to repel Chris Billam-Smith’s challenge. Billam-Smith was Okolie’s longtime sparring partner, so he knows that difficult style inside out. In a 15,000-seat stadium in his hometown, Billam-Smith will no doubt also draw inspiration from the championship race.

Okolie, however, is convinced that she is still a level above her former friend.

“Because I don’t know where this whole notion of ‘get aggressive and attack him’ comes from. How do you think that will help you in a fight against someone who is a natural, naturally stronger counterpuncher?” okolie said.

“I’ve got the range, I’ve got the power, I’ve got conditioning, I’ve got a lot of things going for me. Not only that, on the inside, it’s not like I’m such a weak guy that all you have to do is get to his chest — 19 people they tried it, 19 people got unstuck, 17 of them fell to the canvas.

“Whether I stopped them or not, they understand that the power is there. So we’ll see.”

Friendship is firmly set aside for the duration of the fight. Okolie cautioned, “I don’t expect it to be a pleasant experience. It won’t be fun for them.”

“I’ll be boxing well at range and midrange. I’ll be much more powerful, much stronger than him. I don’t think he’s really going to punch the way he thinks he is.”

“When we all get psyched up and start visualizing things. I visualize myself knocking everyone out in 10 seconds, but you end up in a fight with another human being. So all this aggression, all this, that and that, it comes down to Mike Tyson[‘s saying]: Everyone has a plan until they get hit.

“So we’ll see.”

Don’t miss Lawrence Okolie vs. Chris Billam-Smith live sky sports action and heaven showcase starting at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night.