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Lawrence Okolie retained his British cruiserweight title and is now a two-time Commonwealth champion, as the 26-year-old prospect stopped Wadi Camacho in the fourth round of today’s fight in London.
Okolie (12-0, 9 KO) was the heavy favorite coming in, and did pretty much as expected, overpowering Camacho (21-8, 12 KO). Okolie landed a flurry of shots, including a hard clean right hand, and Camacho took a knee with just over a minute left in the fourth. He got up and the referee allowed it to continue, but as soon as Okolie landed another clean right hand, he stepped in to stop the fight at 2:00 of round four.
Okolie is now at a key moment in his career, as he’s really done everything possible in the domestic scene, and a move to the European level at least would seem to be next. But there’s also talk of him facing Denis Lebedev, the longtime Russian titleholder and contender.
“Staying at British heavyweight is pointless,” Okolie said after the win. “I need to keep fighting and push my level. If there’s a world title, I believe in myself.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn says the fight with Lebedev (32-2, 23 KO) is available, and that it’s up to Okolie’s team whether or not to take it now.
“I believe he can beat Denis Lebedev now, but it’s just about the risk versus the reward, and whether his team want to go for the gamble,” Hearn said.
Okolie himself expressed no fear of the fight, saying, “I’ll definitely fight Lebedev.” Whether he does or not will require more discussion than that, probably, but it’s at least an option on the table.