Lawrence Okolie defends WBO world cruiserweight title but tough David Light goes the distance | Boxing News

Gritty challenger David Light needed to endure some punishing energy punches to go the distance with Lawrence Okolie.

But Hackney’s WBO cruiserweight world champion Okolie was a dominant victor over 12 rounds.

He took a unanimous choice victory and in the end manhandled Light, hurting him in the late rounds of the combat but by no means dropping him.

Okolie was returning to motion after greater than a yr out of the ring with a brand new coach in his nook, SugarHill Steward.

He was desirous to serve a warning to home rivals, the different champions in his division and even of his personal potential to maneuver as much as heavyweight.

In Light, although he had a compulsory challenger who not solely earned this chance but who had lengthy focused Okolie and his belt, making ready particularly for his likelihood to topple the Londoner and develop into a world champion.

During the introductions, even throughout the anthems, Okolie stepped into the centre of the canvas, prepared it appeared to take command of the ring at the earliest attainable second.

Much taller than his challenger, Okolie’s first assault was to jab to the physique, then he despatched his proper hook into the New Zealander’s aspect, punching the mid-section to throw off his opponent.

Light had no alternative but to attempt to burrow ahead and rise up near Okolie on the inside. They grappled in clinches early on. But all through Okolie was seeking to hit. The proper hand flew down and Light stepped again from it simply in time.

Still, Okolie launched his proper at him in the second spherical. He hit it to the head, the physique, then the head once more. Okolie caught him flush too as the challenger tried to canter ahead.

A stable one-two hit, its impression on Light an indication of the energy behind these punches.

Nevertheless Light steadied himself. Okolie would faucet him together with his jab after which unleash the proper in a sudden explosive burst.

Light nonetheless managed to answer, driving his left into Okolie, a shot that, if just for an prompt, Okolie appeared to really feel.

These moments of success for the New Zealander have been solely fleeting. Still with stubborn willpower Light carried on pushing himself ahead, slugging his proper hook into the aspect of Okolie’s head and dealing to disrupt the champion when he may.

But Okolie is a tough man to combat. His lengthy arms wrapped up Light when he stepped in and he used his dimension to lean his weight down on the shorter man.

The jab pawed at Light but then suddenly Okolie’s proper would flash over focusing on the head but then, after the subsequent jab, thud closely into the physique.

While Light punched at him with single photographs, Okolie made it onerous for him to maintain any combos.

In the ninth spherical the challenger did clip Okolie with a proper hook and Light dredged up the vitality to press ahead after his tormentor. But he was pissed off.

If he had taken some coronary heart from that effort, Okolie snuffed out any of the New Zealander’s optimism in the subsequent spherical. He slung a tough hook into the physique after which cracked his proper hook into Light’s head, discovering the mark and discovering his vary. He blasted the proper absolutely in once more, displaying how harmful he could possibly be.

Even in the eleventh spherical, simply after Okolie had a degree deducted by referee Bob Williams for holding, hastily he had Light badly shaken himself.

Somehow the gritty challenger saved himself upright and Okolie couldn’t discover any additional breakthrough.

Light took Okolie to the playing cards, the place the Londoner received by scores of 116-112, 119-108 and 117-110.

“David Light was extremely tough and he had a good tactic of moving around to his right,” Okolie stated.

“But, at the end of the day, there’s no need to make excuses – just get better.

“I just couldn’t get the last shot to drop him and get him out of there because he was very tough and very good with his hand defences.”

The champion did end with a warning for any future opponents.

“I will go in the ring and fight anyone,” he stated. “If they’re watching this and they think ‘Lawrence is rubbish, I can do this, I can do that’, come and find out.

“I’ll put it on the line in opposition to anybody.”

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