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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Martin Domin

Lawrence Okolie KOs Krzysztof Glowacki to win world title - then demands £30,000 watch

Lawrence Okolie KO'd Krzysztof Glowacki to become world champion - then demanded promoter Eddie Hearn follow through on his promise of a Rolex.

Okolie stopped his experienced Polish opponent in the sixth round to win the vacant WBO cruiserweight title in just his 16th fight.

And he revealed Hearn had vowed to treat his fighter to a £30,000 watch when he signed him following the Rio Olympics in 2016.

"Throughout the whole fight, all I was thinking was one thing," said Okolie. "Four years ago, Eddie Hearn saw a boy from Hackney and said to him, 'If you win a world title, I'm gonna get you a gold Sky-Dweller.' Every single moment in that ring, that's all I was thinking."

"It went exactly to plan. I said I'd get it done between rounds five-eight.

"I knew he was struggling to catch up with me. So it was difficult for him to make the decision to get up."

Okolie should have faced Glowacki in December, but a positive COVID test ruled the Pole out and left Okolie facing a late substitute

But he shrugged off the delay to dominate the fight with a controlled performance from the first bell.

Glowacki, whose only defeats came against former undisputed champion Oleskandr Usyk and Mairis Briedis, was never in the fight.

And after he was wobbled in the fourth round, he met his end in the sixth when a right hand left him writhing on the canvas.

Okolie, who plans a move up to heavyweight in the future, then set his sights on unifying the division.

"Out of the champions, Mairis Briedis is the one I'd most like to fight," he added.

Promoter Hearn added: "Glowacki was top five in the world. Okolie has had criticism but he's a novice. It was an absolute masterclass. That was good enough to beat any cruiserweight.

"We want to unify then move up to heavyweight. He has scary power but also has the knowledge."

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