British cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (listed as 13-0 but more accurately 15-1 including World Series of Boxing pro bouts) will step up to challenge Yves Ngabu (20-0) of France for the European cruiserweight title. The bout will take place on the Regis Prograis-Josh Taylor undercard at The O2 on October 26th, live on DAZN and Sky Sports Box Office. Here is what the two undefeated cruiserwreights had to say at the opening press conference in London:
Yves Ngabu:
I came here one year ago to the UK with a plan, the first was to win my fight and the second was to fight the number one from the UK who is Lawrence Okolie. Lawrence is a good fighter but I know where I want to go and to get where I want to get – these are the things I have to do and get out of my way.
I am focused on my work and we are going to see on October 26 how I am going to beat him. He is a good fighter, he is tall and strong and everything until now he has done perfectly but I believe I can beat him and I believe I am stronger than him.
Lawrence Okolie:
I’m happy to be here, shoutout to Josh Taylor. This is going to be the third Champion I have boxed. I have beaten the British Champion, beaten the Commonwealth Champion and I am looking forward to beating the European Champion next. I’ve seen a lot of interviews with him and I like the way he speaks, he speaks very confidently. I’m just looking forward to going through training camp and then going to work.
It is going to be a very exciting fight, he has got a style which is opposite to mine. He is a come-forward fighter who also knows how to box with good counter-punching. There is going to be a lot of things to deal with on the night but I will deal with them all comfortably and go on from there. The most important thing is to make weight in seven weeks and we can go from there.
