Okolie Wants a Fight with Kabayel: "The One I’m Looking For"

British heavyweight Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs) has expressed his desire to face Germany’s interim WBC heavyweight champion, Agit Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs).

"Kabayel is exactly the guy I’m looking for—I’ve been keeping an eye on him for years. He beat [Frank] Sanchez, [Arslanbek] Makhmudov, and [Zhilei] Zhang—he deserves credit for that. He’s doing his thing, he’s an interim champion, he’s undefeated, and in great shape.

If I want to become a world champion, this is the kind of opponent I need to beat to get there.

I’m ranked No.1 in the WBC, he’s the interim champion, and Oleksandr Usyk has his own path—whether it’s fighting Dubois or something else. Kabayel and I will both need big fights after I beat Richard [Riakporhe], so I’m sure this fight will happen. The winner will move even closer to the heavyweight world title," Okolie stated.

Okolie currently has one fight in the heavyweight division—a first-round TKO victory over Hussein Muhamed. His next bout is set for April 5 against Richard Riakporhe.