Lawrence Okolie Beats David Light; Clarke & Gomez Jr Deliver Entertaining Wins
In a lackluster performance, Lawrence “The Sauce” Okolie (19-0, 14KO) retained the title against mandatory challenger David Light (20-1, 12KO). It was a typical Okolie fight – throwing the jab followed by the right hand before holding. He fought in rinse-and-repeat mode for the majority of the contest.
Light showed true grit by coming forward with good body shots and chasing the mobile Okolie around the ring while eating those right hands like candy. In the closing rounds, Okolie got deducted a point for holding before temporally stunning Light twice with a right hand, then unloading a barrage of punches trying to stop the tough Aussie. The judge’s scorecards were 119-108, 117-110, and 116-112 in favor of The Sauce. 3kingsboxing agrees with the first scorecard. Okolie will come under heavy criticism for such a boring performance. Nonetheless, he remains the undefeated champion and should look for a unification next.
FRAZIER CLARKE GETS THE EASY VICTORY OVER BOGDAN DINU
Heavyweight prospect Frazier Clarke (6-0, 5KO) made quick work of replacement veteran Bogdan Dinu (20-5, 16KO) with vicious body shots. The ring walk and introduction were longer than the actual fight, as Clarke stalked the veteran early in the fight with punishing shots to the body. In the second round, he landed a series of hooks to the ribcage of Dinu that had him grimacing in the corner. The referee was advised by Dinu’s corner their fighter couldn’t go on, stopping the fight before the start of the third round. Clarke remains undefeated and wants a showdown with Fabio Wardley for the English heavyweight crown.
MICHAEL GOMEZ JR WINS BY SPLIT DECISION OVER LEVI GILES
In a junior lightweight contest, Michael Gomez Jr (19-1, 5KO) handed opponent Levi Giles (13-1, 3KO) the first blemish on his record. This fight had a repetitive format as Giles constantly fought off the back foot and was successful early in landing the counter-right hand over the slow jab of Gomez. In the middle rounds, Gomez took over by pinning his opponent against the ropes before unloading hard punches to the body, making Giles less mobile. Moreover, he found a home for the uppercut as the pace of the fight was slowing down with Giles in defense mode. Giles tried to rally back late with fast combination punches to the body. Gomez quickly regained control by coming forward while landing counter-right hands that had Giles retreating until the final bell. One judge had it 96-95 for Giles, with the other two judge’s seeing it 97-94, and 97-93 for Gomez Jr.
