Lawrence Okolie is still awaiting marching orders for his next ring appearance, beyond the understanding that the fight that’s been revealed is not the one that’s happening next.
Or at all.
The unbeaten British cruiserweight remains on course for a vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) title fight versus former two-time champ Krzysztof Glowacki, officials from Matchroom Boxing and the WBO have confirmed to BoxingScene.com. The bout remains in limbo only in landing on a confirmed date and location, but remains on course to take place by no later than May 23 according to existing language with the sanctioning body.
Confusion over the bout’s status arose when the European Boxing Union (EBU) announced on Wednesday that a deal had been reached a cruiserweight fight between Okolie—its reigning champion—and mandatory challenger Tommy McCarthy. Eddie Hearn, Okolie’s promoter poured water on such talk, instead suggesting the likelihood that Belfast’s McCarthy (16-2, 8KOs) will likely wind up fighting for the soon-to-be-vacant EBU title, though not tipping his hand as to when a date will be attached to Okolie’s world title fight with Poland’s Glowacki.
Okolie (14-0, 11KOs) claimed the EBU in a 7th round stoppage of previously unbeaten Yves Ngabu last October, capping a 2019 campaign which saw four knockouts in as many fights on the year. The win by far the most notable of his career, which also helped the 27-year old—whom represented Great Britain in the 2016 Rio Olympic—advance in the WBO cruiserweight rankings at the very right time.
The WBO belt became available once two-time titlist Mairis Briedis was stripped for failure to comply with a sanctioning body-mandated rematch with Glowacki (31-2, 19KOs) following their controversial title fight last June. The Puerto Rico-based organization ordered a vacant title fight during its annual convention last December in Tokyo, with Glowacki and Okolie serving as the two highest rated contenders and both accepting the invitation to enter negotiations.
A deal was struck relatively quickly, although getting them in the ring has proven difficult due to reasons beyond their control.
The title fight was due to be paired up with a mandatory title defense for two-time and reigning middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin (40-1-1, 35KOs), who faces Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta—who is promoted by Knockout Promotions, along with Glowacki—in a bout that was originally targeted for March 28. The tentative date was moved back to April and since taken off the calendar as Golovkin continues to recover from a minor calf injury for which he was granted a 60-day extension by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) to honor his mandatory challenge obligation.
Fittingly, the extension is in line with the WBO’s deadline in place for its cruiserweight title fight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox