Lawrence Okolie aims to take on Oleksandr Usyk | “It will be interesting to see how he behaves with me” | boxing news

Lawrence Okolie said at the weigh-in that he would opt for an early stoppage against Chris Billam-Smith.

That would be an emphatic statement.

It could also inspire Okolie, a towering six-foot-five-inch-tall cruiser, to move up to heavyweight.

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

“At this point I’ve had how many tusks, very easy lemon squeeze stuff. I don’t need to keep losing weight anymore. I might as well try something different and get some serious size and Enjoy it.”

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

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

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

“When I say I have my own aspirations, I really mean it. These guys think, ‘Oh, I want to win a world title. I did it. I defended him. But I have other things I want to do,” Okolie said. “So it’s just another stop.

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

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

Okolie has not reached this level of success, but he would like to compete against Usyk.

“I want to see. I want to see how he handles my clumsiness, as well as my athleticism, I would really like to see,” Okolie said.

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

Today, Okolie’s task is to fend off Chris Billam-Smith’s challenge. Billam-Smith was a longtime training partner of Okolie, so he knows this tricky style inside out. In a 15,000 seat stadium in his hometown, Billam-Smith will no doubt also be inspired by the fight for the championship.

Okolie, however, is convinced that he remains a level beyond his former friend.

“Because I don’t know where this whole notion of ‘getting aggressive and going after him’ came from. How do you think that’s going to help you in a fight against someone who’s a natural counter-puncher , naturally stronger?” Okolie said.

“I’ve got the range, I’ve got the power, I’ve got the conditioning, I’ve got so much going for me. Not only that, on the inside, it’s not like I’m such a guy. weak that all you have to do is reach for his chest – 19 people tried it, 19 people took off, 17 of them fell on the canvas.

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

Friendship is firmly set aside for the duration of the fight. Okolie warned: “I don’t expect it to be a great experience. It won’t be fun for them.

“I will box well at range and mid-range. I will be so much more powerful, so much stronger than him. I don’t think he’s going to hit the way he thinks.

“When we all get inside our heads and start visualizing stuff. I visualize myself knocking everybody out in 10 seconds but then we end up in a fight with another human being. So all this aggression, all that, that and the other, it goes to Mike Tyson (says): 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 sky showcase from 7 p.m. on Saturday evening.