Joshua vs Pulev: Lawrence Okolie to face Nikodem Jezewski with Glowacki out

British cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie has a new opponent set for Saturday’s Joshua-Pulev card, with Nikodem Jezewski stepping in to replace Krzysztof Glowacki.

Glowacki, who was to face Okolie for the vacant WBO title, was ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19. There was an attempt to get Michal Cieslak in the spot after Cieslak won this past Saturday and took no damage, but that hasn’t come together.

Jezewski (19-0-1, 9 KO) is a 29-year-old from Poland with a pretty empty record. He faced Cieslak back in 2016, but they went to a no-contest. Other than Cieslak, the most recognizable name on his record might be Shawndell Winters. Jezewski beat Winters by eight-round majority decision in Apr. 2019.

How to Watch Joshua vs Pulev

Date: Saturday, Dec. 12 | Start Time: 1:00 pm ET
Location: The SSE Arena, Wembley - London, England
Stream: DAZN | TV: Sky Box Office (UK)
Online Coverage: BadLeftHook.com

Jezewski is not ranked in the top 15 by the WBO, so the fight won’t be for the vacant title. You can expect Okolie-Glowacki to be rescheduled for 2021, so long as Okolie (14-0, 11 KO) doesn’t suffer an upset loss this weekend, and so long as Glowacki doesn’t miss a window or whatever, that could happen.

Cieslak would have been an incredible get on such short notice, as he’s a legit top 10 or so cruiserweight, but Jezewski isn’t the worst replacement. I mean, he hasn’t beaten anyone, but hey, here’s his chance.

Also of note: Souleymane Cissoho is no longer on the card, as the junior middleweight will be replaced by Macaulay McGowan against Kieron Conway. Junior featherweight Qais Ashfaq and welterweight Florian Marku will also be in action, as well as Martin Bakole vs Sergey Kuzmin and, horrifyingly, Hughie Fury vs Mariusz Wach remains scheduled.

Bad Left Hook will have more on Joshua-Pulev this week, including live coverage for the show, which streams on DAZN starting at 1 pm ET on Saturday.