Ringside Report: Okolie Beats Light But Fails To Excite In Retaining His WBO Cruiserweight Title

Ringside Report: Okolie Beats Light But Fails To Excite In Retaining His WBO Cruiserweight Title

In many ways, it was a new beginning for Lawrence Okolie on Saturday night in Manchester. A new trainer, a new boxing promotion, but it didn’t quite go to plan for Okolie despite winning virtually every second of his latest WBO cruiserweight defence against the previously unbeaten New Zealander David Light.

After all the unsavoury and, in truth, tiresome war of words with his previous boxing home, leading up to his first appearance on a Boxxer show, Okolie needed a statement-making performance against Light. He got anything but.

Light certainly didn’t help matters with his lack of ambition, but the limitations of his opponent really should have seen Okolie record a victory long before the final bell. Okolie looked sharp enough in the opening two rounds before the fight disintegrated into the messy affair that had a section of the fans heading for the exits as the fight headed into its anticlimactic conclusion.

Okolie (19-0) briefly threatened the stoppage in the 10th, and while Light deserves credit for the sturdiness of his chin, Okolie helped him see out the fight when he inexplicably took his foot off the gas and was content to rarely vary his work for the majority of a fight that was a major disappointment after everything that led up to his Boxxer debut. From round 3 onwards, there was very little variation in the work of Okolie, and each round followed a similar predictable pattern. The boos of the crowd reflected what the majority in the Manchester Arena felt. It wasn’t what Okolie or Ben Shalom would have wanted from the much-anticipated return to the Sky platform.

Scores of 116-112, and far more accurate cards of 119-108 and 117-110 saw Okolie retain the WBO bauble he has held since 2021, and he will hope there are better nights ahead. There has to be.

Okolie can be excused a little for his laboured performance because of his year-long hiatus, the limited time spent with SugarHill Steward and the pressure on his shoulders after all that came before. Okolie is undoubtedly a much better fighter than he showed in Manchester and he is still probably the best cruiserweight in the world. But winning isn’t always enough. His fight against Light showed that. There has been a lot of time and money spent on Okolie in recent times. Make no mistake, he can’t afford many more nights like this. Probably the understatement of any year.

Boxing is a business, an entertainment business, and not many were entertained in Manchester last night. And there lies the problem for Okolie and Shalom. The fighter carries a hefty price tag now and the large expectations that go with it. Sky and the paying punters will expect value for money, and will those punters who watched through sleepy eyes last night return for more? Many undoubtedly won’t. You can be the best cruiserweight on the planet but if you can’t put bums on seats and nobody wants to watch you it is money down the drain for all that invest in Okolie.

Fight fans typically have short memories, and Okolie has the power to make people forget next time out. But that next time will need to be better. Much better. The boxing spin doctors will offer excuses for what was served up, but Okolie might already be at the stage where it’s two strikes and out. It is not the first Okolie ‘stinker’ by any stretch of the imagination and I do think it will indeed be better the next time he graces a boxing ring. The opponent will be the key and the magnitude of the fight that comes with it and even where the fight takes place. In many ways, you sense all parties desperately need to get it right next time.