LAWRENCE OKOLIE cruised through an uninspiring 10 rounds against Kevin Lerena, claiming a wide unanimous decision victory in only his second heavyweight outing.
‘The Sauce’ had not fought since a one-round blowout last December, and yet a lack of activity seemed to have little bearing on his performance earlier this evening.
If anything, the Londoner appeared perfectly happy to control proceedings behind his jab, at no point expressing any real urgency to make an emphatic statement.
But those tactics, while not exactly setting the world alight, proved more than enough to take care of business against a largely one-dimensional Lerena, 31-4 (15 KOs).
The pair squared off on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2, with Okolie’s steady display seeing him secure scores of 100-90 twice, as well as one 99-91 reflection.
It was an encouraging opening round for Okolie, 22-1 (16 KOs), who pumped out an accurate jab before shifting his feet into the pocket where, instead of clinching, the former cruiserweight world champion whipped several hooks into his opponent’s body.
His lead hand then had an even greater effect in the following frame, as while Lerena looked to close down the distance, the visitor was ultimately denied many opportunities to do so.
Sure enough, Okolie only continued to prod with his jab in the third round, following the shot up with an odd right hand every now and again.
It was, indeed, a measured effort from the 32-year-old, but as the rounds progressed, it became increasingly difficult to watch each exchange with any genuine sense of excitement.
From that angle, it could also be said that Lerena did not exactly help matters, either, as a lack of ideas seemingly inspired him to simply plod forward with no real gameplan.
It was not long, then, before each round merged into the same story, with Okolie dominating the fight while, at the same time, showing no desire to force the stoppage.
Yet still, the Hackney man cannot exactly be blamed for employing his rather predictable strategy, as with no need to take any unnecessary risks, his victory ultimately saw him cement his status at the WBC’s number-one ranked contender.
