Lawrence Okolie will put his WBO cruiserweight world title on the line when he takes on David Light in what promises to be a blockbuster night of boxing at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 25th March.
British cruiserweight Okolie will be making the third defence of his WBO belt and he will also be aiming to extend his unbeaten record as a professional.
Light is also unbeaten and will provide a stern test of the champion's credentials, as it will be over a year since Okolie last entered the ring by the time he faces off against the New Zealander.
Okolie v Light headlines what promises to be an enthralling night on the BOXXER schedule, with Jack Catterall, Frazer Clarke and Karriss Artingstall among the other high-profile fighters set to be in action.
What | Lawrence Okolie v David Light |
Where | AO Arena, Manchester |
When | Saturday 25th March, 2023 |
How to watch | Sky Sports |
Odds | Lawrence Okolie 1/6, David Light 7/2 |
The fight is scheduled to take place on Saturday 25th March 2023.
It will be a busy night of boxing in Manchester, with the opening bout of the evening scheduled to get underway at 17:00, with the main card beginning at 20:00.
Okolie v Light will be the main event of the evening, with the ringwalks for the world title showdown set to commence at approximately 22:00.
The fight is set to take place at the AO Arena in Manchester.
Many of the world's best boxers have fought at the venue in the past, including Amir Khan, Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Mike Tyson, and David Haye.
This will be Okolie's second fight at the arena and first since he sensationally knocked out Geoffrey Cave in the opening round of his first ever professional bout, with the sixth anniversary of that stoppage victory being marked on the day he faces Light.
Light has never previously fought on British soil and this will be only his fifth bout outside of his native New Zealand.
Yes. The fight will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
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As the title holder, it is no surprise that Okolie is considered the heavy 1/6 favourite to win the fight, while Light is 7/2 to pull off what would be a shock victory.
Yes. Okolie will be putting his WBO cruiserweight title on the line during the fight and he will be hoping to successfully defend the belt for the third time.
Okolie has a perfect record of 18 wins from 18 professional fights with 14 of those successes coming via knockout.
The 30-year-old claimed the then vacant WBO cruiserweight title for the first time in March 2017 when he stopped Krzysztof Glowacki in the sixth round of their fight at the SSE Arena in London.
Following that victory, Okolie mounted two successful defences of his title. First stopping Dilan Prasovic inside three rounds of their title fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2021, before claiming a unanimous decision win over Michal Cieslak at London's O2 Arena in his most recent bout in February last year.
Light is also unbeaten as a professional, winning all 20 of his fights to date and he has been able to stop his opponent in 12 of those successes.
The 31-year-old has fought three times since Okolie last entered the ring, including as he claimed a knockout success over Anthony Martinez in the first round of their WBO International cruiserweight title fight in May 2022.
Another knockout success soon followed, as Light defeated Vikas Singh in October last year, before he retained his WBO International cruiserweight title with a split decision success over Brandon Glanton in Florida in December.
There are plenty of big names fighting on the undercard of this bout, including world title hopeful Jack Catterall, who will be returning to the ring for the first time since his controversial defeat to Josh Taylor in their light-welterweight title fight last February.
Catterall had been hoping to face Taylor in a rematch but, with the Scot out injured, he will have to turn his attention to a new opponent who will be named in due course.
Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Frazer Clarke is also fighting on the undercard, with the popular heavyweight set to take on experienced American Rydell Booker.
Clarke has won all three of his previous fights at the AO Arena and he will be determined to secure another success against Booker.
Karriss Artingstall was also a bronze medallist at the Tokyo Olympics and the southpaw will be aiming to make it three wins from three as a professional when she takes on a yet to be confirmed opponent in the featherweight division.
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