Okolie V Glowacki: How likely is Lawrence Okolie to win the WBO Cruiserweight Belt?

This is a question that only Nigerian-born Cruiserweight fighter Lawrence Okolie and his opponent can answer when they go head-to-head in a WBO Cruiserweight clash on Sunday. Okolie will square up against Poland’s Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO Cruiserweight title in a game that could mark the rise of Okolie to the heavyweight category. Okolie who is nicknamed The Sauce hopes to unify the cruiserweight division and move to heavyweight.

The Nigerian-British fighter is so far undefeated in 15 professional fights, winning 13 of those by Knockout out. He held the Commonwealth cruiserweight title from 2018 to 2019, and the British and European cruiserweight titles separately in 2019. Okolie is known for his long reach and punching power. Okolie will equal Anthony Joshua in becoming a world champion in his 16th fight, if he can see off Glowacki.

Glowacki on the other hand has won 31 fights and lost 2, with 19 wins by Knockout. Glowacki comes in with some experience in the title bouts. In a 2015 fight with Germany’s Marco Huck, Glowacki made a remarkable comeback with an 11th round knockout against the German, to claim the WBO crown. He successfully defended the title in his next match by outpointing America's Steve Cunningham. He has had 2 defeats in an otherwise impressive record, with his losses coming against former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, and current IBF champion Mairis Briedis. However, Glowacki has also been out of the ring for nearly two years, with his last fight being a controversial stoppage defeat to Mairis Briedis in June 2019.

Okolie and Glowacki were due to clash on the same night  Anthony Joshua’s faced Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev last December, but Glowacki was forced to withdraw from their contest after he returned a positive COVID-19 test. But on Sunday, there would be no excuse, as both men will meet face to face and the punches will decide.

How likely is Lawrence Okolie to win the WBO Belt?

Leading Nigerian Bookmaker, betBonanza has predicted the likely outcome of the much-talked-about. The bookmaker offers a penetrating insight based on facts, as to why Lawrence would likely carry the day.

Glowacki has a 24% chance of winning the fight

Given that Krzysztof Glowacki is a former world champion and has lost just twice in 33 fights, he seems to have enough experience to make things a little tricky for Okoli. But we don’t think he has the firepower to knock out the Nigerian. But there are bound to be rough moments for Okolie as the rounds go by. However, with almost two full years of inactivity for 33-year-old Glowacki, he is bound to look rusty. Ultimately Okolie is young, strong enough, with long punches to impose himself before the final bell sounds.

Okolie has an 81% chance of winning the match
This will be his first-ever world title fight, and will likely be his greatest achievement in boxing to date. But strikingly, this is just his 16th professional fight. Okolie is undefeated in 16 games. He is younger, taller, longer, and again, it’s not exciting, but when opponents try to bring the fire at him, he knows how to hold his own and neutralize them. While he may not be able to dominate for multiple rounds, he is likely to win by Technical Knockout or Referee Decision. 

With the success Anthony Joshua has already recorded, it will definitely be the delight of sports lovers all over Africa, and indeed Nigeria to have another success in Lawrence Okolie. The fact that Okolie himself is managed by Anthony Joshua makes this dream a likely possibility.