In the UK, the fight will be broadcast by Sky Sports. On Saturday, March 25, the show will begin at 15:00 Eastern Standard Time (USA).
Lawrence “The Sauce” Okolie has made an optimistic prediction in advance of his fight with David Light for the WBO world cruiserweight title on Saturday, March 25 at the AO Arena.
As part of a sensational BOXXER fight night that will feature Jack Catterall, Frazer Clarke, and Karriss Artingstall in action, the date and location have officially been moved from Liverpool to Manchester.
WHEN IS OKOLIE VS. LIGHT?
Date: Saturday, March 25
Start time: 7 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET
Sky Sports will broadcast the fight in the UK, ProBoxTV in the US
Main event ringwalks (approx): 10 p.m. GMT / 6 p.m. ET
The fight takes place at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.
The event is set to get underway at 7 p.m. GMT / 3 p.m. ET with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 10 p.m. GMT / 6 p.m. ET.
Okolie will make his long-awaited return after BOXXER agreed to the purse bid. He last fought 12 months ago.
In addition, the British fighter is confident that when he defends his WBO title against Light, a New Zealand opponent who has never lost, he will improve upon his perfect professional record of 18-0 (14 knockouts).
Okolie, who returns to live fighting exclusively on Sky Sports in the UK and Republic of Ireland, stated, “I’ll make light work of him.”
Okolie stopped Geoffrey Cave sensationally in just 20 seconds for his first professional victory in Manchester in May 2017, less than a year after competing for Team GB at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
While certain he will hold his reality title in what will be his third protection since he caught the belt back in Walk 2021 following a glimmering 6th round stoppage over Krzysztof Glowacki, Okolie realizes he really wants to take care of business against his Kiwi enemy.
Addressing Boxxer.com, Okolie added, “I realize that Sky and BOXXER will convey however long as I convey in the ring. I must succeed in defeating David Light and any subsequent opponent.
“It’s good to be back, and I’m looking forward to the first step in the journey toward unifications and additional world titles,” the athlete said.
Ben Shalom, CEO and founder of BOXXER, stated: We are bringing The Sauce with us as we return to Manchester, our spiritual home.
The wait for Lawrence Okolie to return to the ring has been well documented. Yet, I’m more than happy to see a legitimate English tip top contender protecting his reality title on home soil.
“The cruiserweight division is arguably the most exciting weight class in the sport at the moment, and there are a lot of domestic stars vying for the title. Lawrence is at the top of that mountain, and he intends to stay there when he faces a very dangerous opponent in David Light, who beat Brandon Glanton impressively last time out.
Jack Catterall, who is from the North West and is 26-1-0 with 13 knockouts, will be eager to remind the world that he ought to be the undisputed champion himself.
Questionably denied a triumph against Josh Taylor last February, the Chorley warrior had would have liked to vindicate that evening in Glasgow in a rematch with the WBO and Ring Magazine super-lightweight boss.
However, with the Scot sidelined through injury, Catterall must rather direct his concentration toward another adversary who will be named at the appropriate time.
Shalom stated, What took place to Jack a year ago was a mockery. He ought to be fighting as a world champion right now. His time will come, but for the time being, he needs to show us all what he can do and get back into the fight.
Frazer Clarke, “The People’s Champion” (5-0, 4 KOs), will fight Rydell Booker, an experienced American heavyweight, in Manchester, which has been a very happy hunting ground for him.
Clarke, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and has won back-to-back fights at the AO Arena. When he returns next month, he will be looking to complete the hat trick.
Clarke, on the other hand, is up against the former No. 1 ranked American heavyweight, Booker, who is from Michigan and is 27-7-1 with 14 knockouts. Booker has fought opponents like Jermaine Franklin, Kubrat Pulev, Filip Hrgovic, and Otto Wallin.
Booker will hope to continue his renaissance against the highly regarded “Big Fraze” after defeating Norman Neely in December.
Additionally, Karriss Artingstall, a 2020 bronze medalist like Clarke (2-0), returns.
The 28-year-old southpaw has won two of her first two fights as a professional, including an impressive points victory over Marina Sakharov in an historic all-female boxing match at The O2 in London in October.
The featherweight prospect’s opponent and a slew of other exciting fights for what promises to be an epic night in the North-West on March 25 will be announced in due course.
OKOLIE VS. LIGHT CARD
Lawrence Okolie vs. David Light; For Okolie’s WBO world cruiserweight title
Michael Gomez Jr vs. Levi Giles; Super featherweight
Frazer Clarke vs. Rydell Booker; Heavyweight
Callum Simpson vs. Celso Neves; Super middleweight
Aaron McKenna vs. Lukas Ndafoluma; Middleweight
Samuel Antwi vs. Omir Rodriguez; Light middleweight
Shakiel Thompson vs. Robert Talarek; Middleweight
Karriss Artingstall vs. Linzi Buczynskyj; Featherweight
Rhys Edwards vs. Brian Phillips; Featherweight
Frankie Stringer vs. TBA; Lightweight
Harvey Lambert vs. Casey Brown; Light middleweight
