Gritty challenger David Gentle needed to endure some punishing energy punches to go the gap with Lawrence Okolie.
However Hackney’s WBO cruiserweight world champion Okolie was a dominant victor over 12 rounds.
He took a unanimous choice victory and finally manhandled Gentle, hurting him within the late rounds of the combat however by no means dropping him.
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Okolie works from vary
Okolie was returning to motion after greater than a yr out of the ring with a brand new coach in his nook, SugarHill Steward.
He was desperate to serve a warning to home rivals, the opposite champions in his division and even of his personal potential to maneuver as much as heavyweight.
In Gentle, although he had a compulsory challenger who not solely earned this chance however who had lengthy focused Okolie and his belt, making ready particularly for his likelihood to topple the Londoner and develop into a world champion.
In the course of the introductions, even throughout the anthems, Okolie stepped into the centre of the canvas, prepared it appeared to take command of the ring on the earliest doable second.
A lot taller than his challenger, Okolie’s first assault was to jab to the physique, then he despatched his proper hook into the New Zealander’s facet, punching the mid-section to throw off his opponent.
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Okolie’s dimensions have been an excessive amount of for Gentle to beat (Photographs: Lawrence Lustig/BOXXER)
Gentle had no alternative however to attempt to burrow ahead and stand up near Okolie on the within. They grappled in clinches early on. However all through Okolie was seeking to hit. The precise hand flew down and Gentle stepped again from it simply in time.
Nonetheless, Okolie launched his proper at him within the second spherical. He hit it to the pinnacle, the physique, then the pinnacle once more. Okolie caught him flush too because the challenger tried to canter ahead.
A stable one-two hit, its impression on Gentle an indication of the ability behind these punches.
However Gentle steadied himself. Okolie would faucet him together with his jab after which unleash the correct in a sudden explosive burst.
Gentle nonetheless managed to answer, driving his left into Okolie, a shot that, if just for an on the spot, Okolie appeared to really feel.
These moments of success for the New Zealander have been solely fleeting. Nonetheless with stubborn willpower Gentle carried on pushing himself ahead, slugging his proper hook into the facet of Okolie’s head and dealing to disrupt the champion when he might.
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Gentle fights again however his moments of success are fleeting
However Okolie is a troublesome man to combat. His lengthy arms wrapped up Gentle when he stepped in and he used his measurement to lean his weight down on the shorter man.
The jab pawed at Gentle however then abruptly Okolie’s proper would flash over concentrating on the pinnacle however then, after the subsequent jab, thud closely into the physique.
Whereas Gentle punched at him with single pictures, Okolie made it laborious for him to maintain any mixtures.
Within the ninth around the challenger did clip Okolie with a proper hook and Gentle dredged up the vitality to press ahead after his tormentor. However he was annoyed.
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Okolie defended his WBO cruiserweight world title towards David Gentle
If he had taken some coronary heart from that effort, Okolie snuffed out any of the New Zealander’s optimism within the subsequent spherical. He slung a tough hook into the physique after which cracked his proper hook into Gentle’s head, discovering the mark and discovering his vary. He blasted the correct absolutely in once more, displaying how harmful he might be.
Even within the eleventh spherical, simply after Okolie had a degree deducted by referee Bob Williams for holding, rapidly he had Gentle badly shaken himself.
In some way the gritty challenger stored himself upright and Okolie couldn’t discover any additional breakthrough.
Gentle took Okolie to the playing cards, the place the Londoner received by scores of 116-112, 119-108 and 117-110.
“David Gentle was extraordinarily powerful and he had an excellent tactic of shifting round to his proper,” Okolie stated.
“However, on the finish of the day, there isn’t any must make excuses – simply get higher.
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The champion cannot discover the crowning glory
“I simply could not get the final shot to drop him and get him out of there as a result of he was very powerful and excellent together with his hand defences.”
The champion did end with a warning for any future opponents.
“I’ll go within the ring and combat anybody,” he stated. “In the event that they’re watching this they usually assume ‘Lawrence is garbage, I can do that, I can try this’, come and discover out.
“I am going to put it on the road towards anybody.”
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