Isaac Chamberlain not giving up on world title aspirations, hopes for rematch with Okolie eventually

British cruiserweight Isaac Chamberlain hasn’t been seen since Oct. 2018, when he edged a points win over Luke Watkins at the Copper Box in London, a fight that came eight months after a dreadful outing against and loss to Lawrence Okolie.

Now 26, Chamberlain (10-1, 4 KO) says he’s not giving up on his world title dreams, and was supposed to have a couple of tune-up bouts recently that were scrapped due to coronavirus. He’s recently worked with former light heavyweight titleholder Glen Johnson, and tells Sky Sports he has his sights set on the WBC title currently held by Ilunga Makabu.

Makabu (27-2, 24 KO) won the vacant belt in January, beating Michal Cieslak in Kinshasa. The Don King-promoted veteran is a hell of a fighter, always exciting to watch, and would be a huge step up for Chamberlain. But Chamberlain remembers Makabu’s 2016 loss to Tony Bellew, and believes the flaws are still there:

“Ilunga Makabu is very good. But he’s stayed the same (since Bellew loss),” he told Sky. “He keeps his head low and he’s not the quickest. He’s still open to the left hook as you saw with Bellew.”

Chamberlain also fully admits his fight with Okolie is “messy,” and that he looks forward to an eventual rematch, and promises “the fans will get a proper fight” if they do it again, feeling both were still too raw the first time around.

Here’s a further look at Chamberlain’s background and life for those interested: