Joshua/Povetkin Undercard: Okolie battles Askin for British title

Nigerian- born Lawrence Okolie will face British cruiserweight champion Matty Askin as part of the Anthony Joshua versus Alexander Povetkin undercard on September 22 at Wembley Stadium.

By Oluwamayomikun Orekoya On Aug 13, 2018 0

Nigerian- born Lawrence Okolie will face British cruiserweight champion Matty Askin as part of the Anthony Joshua versus Alexander Povetkin undercard on September 22 at Wembley Stadium.

25 year-old Okolie is the current Commonwealth (British Empire) cruiserweight and World Boxing Association continental cruiserweight titles holder and has swiftly risen the rankings, beating london rival Isaac Chamberlain on points to get the Continental belt in February, then knocking out Luke Watkins in three rounds to add the Commonwealth title in June.

The London born fighter said: “Matty Askin is a very experienced fighter who is ranked in the top 10 in the world. I want to start making my way towards the world scene and so I need to be able to beat people like Askin to do that.

“I have won the Commonwealth title in my first two years and I want to keep that trajectory going by winning the British title and hopefully winning a world title before the next Olympics.

“My ultimate goal is to be the unified world champion, but before that I want to go down the traditional route, clean up domestically and prove to myself and the fans that I belong at that level.”

The 29 year-old Matty Askin has 27 fights under his belt, winning 23, lost 3 and drawn once while Lawrence Okolie is undefeated in nine fights with seven fights ending in knockouts.