Lawrence Okolie to take on Kevin Lerena on Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2 undercard

Lawrence Okolie will face Kevin Lerena on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois' undisputed heavyweight world championship clash at Wembley Stadium on July 19, Queensberry have confirmed.

Two-weight world champion Okolie has been absent from the ring since emphatically stopping fellow blue-riband division contender Hussein Muhamed last December.

The former cruiserweight and bridgerweight title-holder was set to take on domestic rival Richard Riakporhe earlier this year, but was forced to pull out of the showdown after sustaining an injury during the final couple of weeks of his training camp.

There were rumours of a potential dust-up with hard-hitting Moses Itauma last week, but any notion of that fight has been put to bed with the 20-year-old sensation now expected to square-off with Dillian Whyte later in the year.

Okolie does however finally have an opponent, and it comes in the shape of the awkward southpaw Lerena, who previously dropped current IBF world champion Daniel Dubois three times prior to being stopped by the Queensberry man.

34-fight veteran Lerena, whose three professional losses have come against Dubois, Justis Huni and Johnny Muller, will provide Okolie with a significant step up as the Briton looks to establish himself as a world title contender at a third weight class.

The 32-year-old is ranked number one by the WBC, meaning he is eligible for a crack at Oleksandr Usyk's title, but he first needs to showcase his credentials against world-level contenders.

An 'interim' world title affair against Agit Kabayel is believed to have been provisionally agreed for October, but Okolie first needs to ensure he comes through the stern test that South African star Lerena will pose.

Okolie vs Lerena is expected to provide chief-support to the first ever four-belt heavyweight unification showdown on British shores on July 19.

A second addition to the bill has also been confirmed with British and commonwealth light-heavyweight champion Lewis Edmondson facing unbeaten Ukrainian star Daniel Lapin.

The 6ft 6ins southpaw has been a constant name on Usyk's undercards since first featuring on the bill of his compatriot's first clash with Anthony Joshua in 2021.

It's expected that Riyadh Season and Queensberry will announce additional undercard fights for the blockbuster Wembley Stadium bill in due course.

Mark Mothershaw

• Oleksandr Usyk v Daniel Dubois 2
• Queensberry
• Riyadh Season
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