Lawrence Okolie has thrown his name into the mix as a surprise ally for Jake Paul ahead of the American’s blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua. It was confirmed Monday that two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) will face Jake Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round heavyweight bout on December 19 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, live on Netflix.
While many observers expect Joshua to steamroll Paul inside a round, former cruiserweight world champion Okolie isn’t so quick to dismiss the YouTuber-turned-fighter and now wants to help him prepare.
“I want to go and help Jake Paul and give him a chance,” Okolie said Tuesday from his training base in Dubai. “I want to go out there to Puerto Rico. The offer is there.
I know I have a fight coming up. But I’ll go out for a couple of weeks, I want to know what it is that’s allowed Jake Paul to say to himself, ‘I’m going to get in there with a 250-pound muscle man from England, this big guy, Olympic gold, former heavyweight world champion, two-time, in front of millions of fans on Netflix.’
I need to know. Maybe he’s got a secret that I don’t know. But I want to know before the fight.”
A Unique Perspective: Sparred Both Joshua and Paul
Okolie, now a fully fledged heavyweight and ranked No. 1 with the WBC, is in a rare position: he’s shared countless rounds of sparring with Joshua, who used to manage him, and has also sparred Paul. Although he isn’t picking Paul to win, Okolie does think the American can at least pose some problems especially early.
“I’m not going to sit here and pretend that it’s not a crazy difference in size, skill, all different ways,” he said. “But you know what, crazier things have happened. So let’s just see.”
At 6ft 6in and likely north of 250 pounds on fight night, Joshua will dwarf Paul physically. Okolie believes that if Paul has any success, that’s when the danger really begins.
“If Jake Paul Clips Him… That’s When It Gets Interesting”
When asked whether he expects Joshua, who has 25 knockouts in 28 wins. To blast Paul out in the opening round, Okolie’s answer was more nuanced than most.
“For some reason I don’t think so,” Okolie said. “From what I’ve gathered of AJ, I don’t think he’s going to go hit him with a massive right hand and end it in 30 seconds. I do think though if Jake Paul starts touching him it will be like, ‘OK.’”
Okolie suggested Joshua may use the fight as a chance to work on things rather than hunt an instant finish.
“You know when you’re sparring someone who’s not quite on your level. You can gauge how much to put into shots and go, ‘OK, I’m going to slip.’ He hasn’t been in the ring for a while, maybe he’s going to use it as an exercise.”
But if Paul lands clean and Joshua doesn’t immediately stop him, Okolie thinks the dynamics could shift.
“If Jake Paul clips him and doesn’t take him out the first time he hits him hard, that’s when I think it’s going to get interesting. But crazier things have happened, I don’t know.”
Whether or not Jake Paul takes Okolie up on his offer. One thing is clear: not everyone in the boxing world is writing him off completely at least not yet.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
