March is shaping up to be a pretty quiet month in the boxing calendar, but one match up in particular is catching our eye.
On Saturday 25 March - the sixth anniversary of his professional debut at Manchester Arena - British-Nigerian Lawrence Okolie (18-0, 14 KO) is returning to the venue to defend his WBO World cruiserweight title.
Since his successful 2017 debut, ‘The Sauce’ has collected World, British, Commonwealth and European titles.
Okolie has defended the WBO title twice before, against Dilan Prasovic in September 2021 and Michal Cieslak in February 2022. He originally won it in March 2021 thanks to a victory over Krzysztof Glowacki.
Okolie has not fought in the 13 months since the split decision win over Cieslak at the O2 Arena in London.
While the Hackney-born star is keen to make up for lost time, his 19th professional opponent will be no pushover.
Mandatory challenger, New Zealand’s David Light (20-0, 12 KO), won the WBO Global title in his last fight.
‘The Great White’ is undefeated, having triumphed over fellow unbeaten cruiserweight Brandon Glanton on a split decision in the biggest win of his life in December last year.
Quick on his feet and with a good punch variety, Light has a knack for adapting to his opponent’s style.
Coming up against Okolie, this could means improving his ability to move the top half of his body in order to avoid the punches that will no doubt come his way from such a sharpshooting fighter - one who holds the advantage in terms of height, reach and experience.
Light will not like the fact that only one of Okolie’s 18 opponents, Matty Askin, has made it through an entire fight without being knocked down or knocked out.
Nor will he enjoy that Okolie is now working under American professional boxing trainer SugarHill Steward, who coached Tyson Fury to two knockout victories against Deontay Wilder.
Time will tell, but for now Okolie sounds up to the challenge.
He said: “I’ve stayed in shape, and kept my mind focused on what I love to do, which is boxing.
“I’m just looking forward to getting in there and doing my job.”
Here we share a list of the fights to be taking place during March 2023.
Saturday 4 March at Toyota Arena, Ontario, USA – Al Haymon’s PBC
- Brandon Figueroa vs Mark Magsayo (WBC ‘Interim’ Featherweight Belt)
Saturday 11 March at Zenith de Paris-La Villette, Paris, France – Ben Shalom’s BOXXER
- Tony Yoka vs Carlos Takam (Heavyweight)
- Thomas Faure vs Dan Azeez (European Light-Heavyweight Title)
Sunday 12 March at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia – George Rose’s No Limit
- Tim Tszyu vs Tony Harrison (WBO ‘Interim’ Super-Welterweight Belt)
Saturday 18 March at Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California, USA – Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy
- Gilberto Ramirez vs Gabriel Rosado (Light-Heavyweight)
Saturday 25 March at Manchester Arena, Manchester, UK – Ben Shalom’s BOXXER
- Lawrence Okolie vs David Light (WBO Cruiserweight World Title)
Saturday 25 March at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, USA – Al Haymon’s PBC
- David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant (Super-Middleweight)
Saturday 25 March at Save Mart Center, Fresno, California, USA – Bob Arum’s Top Rank
- Jose Ramirez vs Richard Commey (Super-Lightweight)
