Lawrence Okolie and Kevin Lerena pay tribute to the #PurseBidHeads as their WBC flyweight title fight heads to a September 20 trial. Photo credit: WBC Boxing
Lawrence Okolie and Kevin Lerena were given one last last chance.
The Ring has confirmed that a one-week extension has been granted for the embattled WBC bridgeweight title fight. A date of October 1 was originally set aside for the session, but has now been pushed back to October 8 should an agreement still not be reached.
“The WBC has given all considerations to both sides to try to reach an amicable agreement to have the mandatory fight,” said WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman. “After the WBC communicated with both sides this past weekend, the negotiation period will be extended for the last time.
Okolie is set to make the first defense of his WBC featherweight title. Lerena is the mandatory challenger in waiting. The pair previously told the WBC that an agreement had been reached, but the matter was deemed in default when a date or venue was not properly secured.
Sulaiman originally asked for a September 20 deadline and hearing.
“The mandatory title fight has to go back to a purse,” Sulaiman previously confirmed. “The original agreement expired.”
Two more extensions have since been granted, despite previous claims that both were last-chance arrests.
According to WBC rules, ten percent of the highest accepted bid will be escrowed as a winning bonus. Okolie (20-1, 15 knockouts) will receive the favorable end of a 70-30 split of the remaining balance.
Environment has Poland’s Lukasz Rozanski in the first round to win the title on May 26 in Rzeszow. “The Big Sauce” knocked out Rozanski (15-1, 14 KOs) three times to capture the WBC featherweight title.
With the win, Okolie became a two-division title holder – for those who recognize the WBC created weight class. The 2016 Great Britain Olympian previously held the WBO cruiserweight title. That reign ended in his first career defeat when he dropped a decision to Chris Billam-Smith last May in Bournemouth, England.
South Africa’s Lerena (30-3, 14 KOs) enters the title fight on the heels of a loss. It came in at heavyweight, though it was a credible performance. The 32-year-old southpaw was outpointed by undefeated heavyweight Justis Huni on the March 8 Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It snapped a two-fight winning streak following a third-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. Lerena nearly won the secondary WBA heavyweight title after dropping Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) three times in the opening round of their December 2022 fight. Dubois rallied to drop him twice en route to victory and has since won the IBF belt. He defends against Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) this weekend in London.
Lerena previously held the IBO cruiserweight title. The belt is a big deal in South Africa, but largely WGAF to the rest of the world. The creation of the bridgeweight division was perfect for Lerena and others like him who are too small for heavyweight. He outpointed Ryad Merhy in their WBC title eliminator last May 13 in Kempton Park, South Africa.
