{"id":119414,"date":"2024-05-23T10:48:32","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T16:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/?p=119414"},"modified":"2024-05-23T15:49:39","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T21:49:39","slug":"wbc-special-preview-lukasz-rozanski-vs-lawrence-okolie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/wbc-special-preview-lukasz-rozanski-vs-lawrence-okolie\/","title":{"rendered":"WBC Special Preview: Lukasz Rozanski vs Lawrence Okolie"},"content":{"rendered":"

WBC Special Preview: Lukasz Rozanski vs Lawrence Okolie<\/strong><\/h2>\n

WBC STATISTICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

WBC Bridgerweight World Championship<\/p>\n

May 24, 2024 \/ Rzeszow, Poland \/ Hala Na Prodpromiu<\/p>\n

TV: POLAND TVP SPORT \/ UNITED KINGDOM SKY SPORTS<\/p>\n

KNOCKOUT PROMOTION & A. WASILEWSKI PRESENTS:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

LUKASZ ROZANSKI (Poland)<\/strong><\/p>\n

WBC Bridgerweight World Champion<\/p>\n

Age: 38 \/ Date of birth: January 23, 1986<\/p>\n

Residence, Birthplace: Rzeszow, Poland<\/p>\n

Height: 6\u20191\u201d \u2013 185cm \/ Reach: 74\u201d \u2013 188cm \/ Stance: Right-handed<\/p>\n

Record: 15-0, 14 KOs \/ Total rounds: 26 \/ World championship fights: 1-0, 1 KO<\/p>\n

LAWRENCE OKOLIE (UK)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ranked WBC No. 1 at Bridgerweight<\/p>\n

Age: 31 \/ Date of birth: December 16, 1992<\/p>\n

Residence, birthplace: Hackney, London, United Kingdom<\/p>\n

Height: 6\u20195\u201d \u2013 196cm \/ Reach: 82.5\u201d \u2013 210cm \/ Stance: Right-handed<\/p>\n

Record: 19-1, 14 KOs \/ Total rounds: 108 \/ World championship fights: 4-1, 2 KOs<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

General Information<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This will be the 4th<\/sup> Bridgerweight Championship Fight<\/p>\n

22\/10\/2021\u00a0 \u00a0OSCAR RIVAS\u00a0 vs RYAN ROZICKY\u00a0 UD 12\u00a0 \u00a0MONTREAL<\/p>\n

22\/04\/2023\u00a0 \u00a0LUKASZ ROZANSKI vs ALEN BABIC\u00a0 TKO 1\u00a0 RZESZOW<\/p>\n

25\/11\/2023\u00a0 \u00a0KEVIN LERENA vs SENAD GASHI (INTERIM)\u00a0 UD 12\u00a0 KEMPTON PAR<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WBC Fights in Poland: 6 Matches<\/strong><\/h3>\n

15\/05\/2010\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 KRZYSZTOF WLODARCZYK – GIACOBBE FRAGOMENI\u00a0 \u00a0 TKO 8\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 LODZ, POLAND\u00a0 CR<\/p>\n

20\/09\/2010\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 KRYSZTOF WLODARCZYK \u2013 JASON ROBINSON\u00a0 \u00a0 UD 12\u00a0 \u00a0WARSAW, POLAND\u00a0 CR<\/p>\n

02\/04\/2011\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 KRYSZTOF WLODARCZYK \u2013 FRANCISCO PALACIOS SD 12\u00a0 BYDGOSZCZ, POLAND\u00a0 CR<\/p>\n

10\/09\/2011\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 VITALI KLITSCHKO – THOMASZ ADAMEK\u00a0 \u00a0 TKO 10\u00a0 WROCLAW, POLAND\u00a0 HE<\/p>\n

22\/09\/2012\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 KRZYSZTOF WLODARCZYK – FRANCISCO PALACIOS\u00a0 \u00a0UD 12\u00a0 WROCLAW, POLAND\u00a0 CR<\/p>\n

22\/04\/2023\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LUKASZ ROZANSKI – ALEN BABIC (VACANT)\u00a0 TKO 1\u00a0 RZESZOW, POLAND\u00a0 BR<\/p>\n

By Division:<\/p>\n

Cruiser\u00a0 4<\/p>\n

Heavy\u00a0 1<\/p>\n

Bridger\u00a0 1<\/u><\/p>\n

TOTAL:\u00a0 6<\/p>\n

This will be the first WBC Bridgerweight title bout celebrated in Poland<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lukasz Rozanski vs Lawrence Okolie<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By James Blears<\/p>\n

Hard hitting World Boxing Council Bridgerweight Champion Lukasz Rozanski defends his belt for the first time against Hackney\u2019s Lawrence \u201cThe Octopus\u201d Okolie on Friday May 24th<\/sup>\u00a0at the Hala na Podpromiu Arena in his hometown of Rzeszow, Poland.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a stark and striking reason Lukasz has ended fourteen of his fifteen professional bouts via stoppage. He fights flat out and non-stop. He possesses real power, especially via his right hook. He doesn\u2019t like to stray far from home. All of his fights thus far, have been in Poland. This one is in the place he was born, raised and lives. He\u2019s on home turf in front of his own adoring fans, who will be cheering him on for this Voluntary Defense.<\/p>\n

He minces opponents, but seldom words, bluntly stressing: \u201cI\u2019m defending my title in my own back yard, fighting a former world champion. For moments like this, I\u2019ve trained hard all of my life!\u201d<\/p>\n

The visitor and the challenger is Lawrence Okolie, with a record of 19-1, 14 KO\u2019s. Lawrence has been British, Commonwealth and European Cruiserweight champion. He is also the former WBO Cruiserweight Champion. His official nickname is \u201cThe Sauce.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explains: \u201cAt the beginning of my career and as part of an analogy, I said that boxing is like a burger. And, the most important ingredient is the sauce. That\u2019s how you give it your own special flavor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence has also less flatteringly been dubbed \u201cThe Octopus.\u201d He often hits and then clinches. It\u2019s part of his style. In his most recent fight against Chris \u201cThe Gentleman\u201d Billam- Smith, in which he lost his title by MD, Referee Marcus McDonnell repeatedly warned him about holding, before deducting a point in round five and then in round seven.<\/p>\n

He also visited the canvass in the fourth, tenth and eleventh. Chris caught him with a peach of a counter left hook in the fourth, as he was moving in, and it took him some time to regain his equilibrium after he got up. The other two knockdowns were scrappier, coming out of inevitable clinches, but they all count.<\/p>\n

Moving up in weight and strolling into Rozanski\u2019s lair, Lawrence is aiming to more than hold his own, boldly saying: \u201cI\u2019m excited to go to Poland and again test myself away from home. Rosanski is a good champion with an explosive style, but he has never felt power like mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

What a sauce! And so the saying goes: \u201cWhat\u2019s sauce for the goose\u2026is sauce for the gander.\u201d So\u2026 let\u2019s take a closer \u201cGander.\u201d<\/p>\n

In winning the vacant WBC title also in Rzeszow, Lukasz steam rollered over previously undefeated Croatian fighter Alen Babic in 2.10 of round one, with Referee Lupe Garcia, saving Al. All in all, it happened so quickly. He was knocked down with a mighty right hook, somehow managing \u00a0to get up to receive an eight standing count. Another booming right wobbled him and he was \u00a0pummeled \u00a0non- stop, until the merciful and timely intervention. It transpired in little more than the flash of the eyelash, but non the less, the mauling was impressive. It put the lid on things.<\/p>\n

To win, Lawrence must use his height and reach matador style, to fend off the champion who exudes bull like strength, and to utilize his vaunted long right, to good effect. He\u2019s a towering six feet five inches tall, with an albatross wingspan reach of eighty two and a half inches, compared to Lukasz who\u2019s a robust and compact six feet one inches tall with a reach of seventy four inches.<\/p>\n

Too much clinching this time, will get Lawrence disqualified. Aged thirty one, he\u2019s seven years younger than Lukasz and this could be a telling factor, if the fight extends past a likely explosive outset. Lawrence has a powerful upper body, but rather skinny legs. If we glance back in history, this certainly didn\u2019t do \u201cRuby\u201d Bob Fitzsimmons any harm. He won world championships at middle, heavyweight and the then newly created light heavyweight division.<\/p>\n

Lawrence does have power of his own. In winning the WBO Cruiserweight title he cut Krzysztof Glowacki over the right eye and KO\u2019d him with a right hook in the sixth round. He successfully defended it three times, before the loss to Chris Billam-Smith, in Chris\u2019 home town of Bournemouth. \u00a0Now he\u2019s going to fight in the Champion\u2019s home town and that champion is in a heavier division. It\u2019s a daunting prospect.<\/p>\n

As usual Lukasz will be aiming to finish things early, bring down the curtain, switch off the lights and be tucked up in bed before midnight. Lawrence must box and punch pick perfectly, to \u201cDrag\u201d this fight into the later stages. To clinch victory he must avoid too much holding and hugging. The fans are on tenterhooks rather than tentacles!<\/p>\n

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WBC Special Preview: Lukasz Rozanski vs Lawrence Okolie WBC STATISTICS WBC Bridgerweight World Championship May 24, 2024 \/ Rzeszow, Poland \/ Hala Na Prodpromiu TV: POLAND [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n

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