WBC Bridgerweight Champion Offers Former Heavyweight Champion to “Move Down” One Weight Class to Fight Him
Former WBO cruiserweight champion and current WBC bridgerweight champion Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs) offered the former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO) to “move down” one weight class to fight him.
“That would be amazing. I think he’ll do well at that weight because I think most of the fights he’s lost recently have been because they were too big. When he fights Tyson Fury, who’s 30, 40 or 50 pounds bigger than him, like Zhang Zhilei, the explosiveness is not the same.”
“If you’re 102kg and you’re fighting a 108kg guy, it’s not that bad, but if you’re fighting someone who’s 118kg or 120kg, the weight difference is going to be a little bit more noticeable because the punches are going to be absorbed better.”
“I think it’s going to be a great fight and Deontay Wilder will always have something that people are worried about – his punching power and his name. If I fight Wilder, no matter what I say, I’m going to be a little bit wary and think, ‘Okay, let’s see what his power is.’ I think it’s a great fight,” the Briton concluded.
The suggestion that Wilder try his hand at bridgerweight was based on the observation that the weight limit for that category is 224 pounds (101.6 kg), and Deontay, fighting at heavyweight, regularly made that weight limit.
Wilder lost his last fight to Zhang Zhilei. The fight between Zhang and Wilder took place on June 1 in Saudi Arabia and became the central event of a large-scale evening of boxing. Zhilei effectively sent Wilder to the canvas by technical knockout in the fifth round.
Deontay, 38, suffered his fourth defeat in his career. Before the fight with Zhang, Wilder also lost to Parker in December 2023. After the defeat to Zhilei, the American is seriously considering ending his career – although, for example, Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk believes that his colleague can still have at least one serious fight.
Okolie lost to Chris Billam-Smith in May 2023, when he lost the WBO belt. This defeat was the only one in his career. After that, Lawrence triumphed over the Pole Ruzhanski, winning the WBC champion title. It is planned that his next opponent will be the holder of the association’s interim title, mandatory challenger for the WBC bridgerweight belt Kevin Lerena.
Source: Sportarena
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