Lawrence Okolie has detailed his experiences sparring with Jake Paul in the lead-up to his fight with Anthony Joshua.
Paul is set to face the toughest challenge of his career to date when he takes on two-time heavyweight champion Joshua on Friday night.
The controversial clash had attracted significant intrigue from across the sporting world, with Paul having only once previously competed at heavyweight ahead of the eight-round showdown at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
While the social media star turned boxer is unsurprisingly a significant underdog, he has spared no expense in putting together a training camp that his coach, Kronk gym adherent Theo Chambers, believes will allow him to shock the world.
A key component of what has been a gruelling camp has been the involvement of several bonafide heavyweight contenders to serve as sparring partners.
British former cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie is among the top-level talent brought in to help prepare Paul as he attempts to overcome a significant size difference inside the ring.
In the lead-up to fight week Paul could be seen sporting a black eye that he claimed was the result of a hard sparring session with Okolie.
Asked on his opinion of Paul as a boxer, Okolie insisted the 28-year-old is surprisingly skilled.
If our WBO world champion [Fabio Wardley] can come from white collar to be heavyweight world champion, why can't Jake Paul be competitive with AJ?
-Lawrence Okolie on Jake Paul
"I want to see them go in there and do his thing," Okolie told PBF.
"If our WBO world champion [Fabio Wardley] can come from white collar to be heavyweight world champion, why can't Jake Paul be competitive with AJ?"
He continued: "Some days it was tough to actually get any meaningful work off, some days it was good. That's why I want to see him showcase a bit of it because he is good. I want him to showcase a bit of the heart, a bit of the speed a bit of the adaptability.
"Even if AJ catches up with him and hurts him - he's good. Or shock the world, I just want to see something."
