Lawrence Okolie Floors Lukasz Rozanski Triple 1st Round TKO, Wins WBC Bridgerweight Title
Lawrence Okolie with the WBO title belt. Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing
Lukasz Rozanski’s title reign ended as it began.
Lawrence Okolie has attacked his opponents in his hometown and will leave with the WBC Bridgerweight title. The visiting Brit knocked Rozanki down three times to end the fight at 2:55 of round one on Friday evening at Hala Podpromie in Rzeszow, Poland.
It was a fitting end to a 13-month reign for Rozanski, who fought on home turf for the third time. His previous appearance was a 130-second undefeated Alen Babic last April 22 to win the vacant WBC Bridgerweight title.
Multiple knockdowns have led to inefficiencies and successful title defenses for the 38-year-old. Okolie (20-1, 15 knockouts) answered them all, 52 weeks removed from his only career loss. The 2016 Great Britain Olympian has not fought since losing on points to Chris Billam-Smith last May 27 to end his WBO cruiserweight title.
The bid to become a two-division contender saw Okolie enter the ring at a hefty 223 ½ pounds. His power followed him up the ladder, as evidenced by Rozanski’s frequent bends right out of the gate.
Okolie spent a short amount of time looking to stack Rozanski (15-1, 14 KOs) for a long right hand. Several came, the most important of which hit Rozanki just a minute before he entered the round.
Rozanski won the count but was sent back to the deck seconds later. The exit list screamed with the rabbit’s fist as he got up from the second knockdown. The plea fell on deaf ears and the action continued, even though the local favorite was on loan.
Okolie closed the show with a right uppercut near the ropes. Rozanski went down again in a heap but managed to get back to his feet. Referee Daniel Van de Wiele checked Rozanski after eight points and found that he could not continue.
The win saw Okolie become a two-division heavyweight, although the Bridgerweight is only recognized by the WBC and WBA. He previously won the WBO cruiserweight title in the fourth round in March 2021 against former champion Krzysztof Glowacki in London. Three successful defenses followed before losing to Billam-Smith last May.
It is highly doubtful that the 6’5” Brit will return to cruiserweight, where he is currently ranked No. 4 by The Ring. Big chance to defend the title at Bridgerweight before the last heavyweight campaign.
Also in the program, aspiring middleweight fighter Fiodor Czerkaszyn (24-1, 15 KO) stopped Mexico’s Jorge Cota in the seventh round. One offense put Czerkaszyn, a Ukrainian-born boxer based in Warsaw, in full control before Cota’s corner threw in the towel. The official time was 2:52 in the seventh round.
Both events are broadcast live on TVP Sport-Poland and Sky Sports.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
