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Putting his WBO cruiserweight title on the line, UK slugger Lawrence Okolie (18-0, 14 KOs) will take to the ring with New Zealander David Light (20-0, 12 KOs) on Saturday (Mar. 25) at Manchester, England’s sprawling AO Arena. Along with the two cruiserweight power punchers, Saturday’s card will feature eight additional fights.
As mentioned, the Main event will showcase Okolie in defense of his WBO cruiserweight title for the second time (def. Michel Cieslak 13 months ago). Okolie boasts devastating right and left hand, the latter of which knocked out Dilan Prasovic (via body shot) to earn the title back in 2021. Standing at 6’5 (82-inch reach), many in the boxing community wonder when Okolie will jump to heavyweight. Regardless, his opponent on Saturday, the 6’2 (76-inch reach) David Light will not come lightly. Not one for pre-fight yammering, Light is a former-Commonwealth silver medalist, and has the skills to break down the larger-Okolie. Still, in Okolie’s backyard (the United Kingdom, where all his pro fights have been), the champ will be a tall task for Light.
Preceding the Main event will be the Co-Main event, a super-featherweight contest between Michael Gomez Jr. (18-1, 5 KOs) and Levi Giles (13-0, 3 KOs) for the BBBofC English title. Gomez Jr.’s lone loss (to Henry James) on his pro record is sandwiched between two separate nine-fight win steaks; He’ll look to make it ten in a row against the shifty Giles on Saturday. For Levi Giles, he has won his last five fights consecutively on the cards. Basically, with only eight knockouts between the two fighters, expect the Co-Main event to go the distance, with ring skills on full display.
At DraftKings Sportsbook, WBO cruiserweight champ Lawrence Okolie shows as a steep -900 favorite on the moneyline for Saturday’s Main event; His opponent, David Light, is yielding a 5/1 payout to pull off the upset outright. For the Co-Main event, the lines are much closer together. With the BBBofC English title on the line, Levi Giles is a short moneyline favorite (-155) at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Michael Gomez Jr. can return +120 to win straight up.
Full Card for Lawrence Okolie vs. David Light
- Main event: Lawrence Okolie vs. David Light, 12 rounds, for Okolie’s WBO cruiserweight title
- Michael Gomez vs. Levi Giles, 10 rounds, for BBBofC English junior lightweight title
- Frazer Clarke vs. Rydell Booker, 8 rounds, heavyweight
- Callum Simpson vs. Celso Neves, 8 rounds, super middleweight
- Aaron McKenna vs. Lukas Ndafoluma, 8 rounds, middleweight
- Samuel Antwi vs. Omir Rodriguez, 6 rounds, junior middleweight
- Shakiel Thompson vs. Robert Talarek, 6 rounds, middleweight
- Karriss Artingstall vs. Linzi Buczynskyj, 6 rounds, women’s featherweight
- Rhys Edwards vs. Brian Phillips, 6 rounds, featherweight