British former WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie is poised to make both his promotional and heavyweight debut on December 7 after he was confirmed to participate on Queensberry Promotions’ upcoming December 7 card. The event, styled as the “Magnificent Seven”, will be headlined by British middleweights Brad Pauls and Denzel Bentley, and further feature six other British stars―including Okolie. The card will be staged at the Wembley Arena in London.
Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KO’s) virtually already competed at heavyweight (200+ lbs) when he defeated Lukasz Rozanski this past May to become the WBC bridgerweight champion. Set between 200 lbs and 224 lbs, the bout was officially recognized as a bridgerweight contest, thereby making Okolie’s upcoming appearance on Queensberry Promotions‘ December 7 card the first official heavyweight fight of his career. Opposite of Okolie will be the relatively unknown German contender Hussein Muhamed (18-1, 14 KO’s).
The stars of the “Magnificent Seven” show, however, will be British middleweights (160 lbs) Brad Pauls (19-1-1, 11 KO’s) and Denzel Bentley (20-3-1, 17 KO’s) to decide who will potentially challenge for the WBO world title. Bentley, 29, is currently rated at #1 in the WBO’s middleweight rankings and is in possession of the WBO International title while the 31-year old Brad Pauls is rated at #2. Following Sheeraz’ withdrawal for a mandatory bout against WBO & IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KO’s), the possibility further remains for the Pauls-Bentley winner to be become the next WBO mandatory
On the same card, a slightly more significant heavyweight bout than the Okolie-Muhamed contest is poised to take place as BBBofC English heavyweight champion Solomon Dacres (9-0, 3 KO’s) prepares to defend his title against David Adeleye (12-1, 11 KO’s) in a domestic heavyweight contest to potentially herald in the next British world title contender.
In a division below at cruiserweight (200 lbs), Aloys Yumbi (8-1, 7 KO’s) and Lewis Oakford (6-1, 0 KO’s) are poised to meet in a similar domestic battle, though without any titles attached.
The Noakes brothers, Sam (8-0, 4 KO’s) and Sean Noakes (15-0, 14 KO’s) are also one of the attractions of the “Magnificent Seven” show. Sam Noakes will be competing at lightweight (135 lbs) against British countryman Ryan Walsh (29-4-2, 13 KO’s), while Sean Noakes will be facing Matthew Rennie (14-0-1, 1 KO’s) at welterweight (147 lbs) for the BBBofC English title.
Rounding off the main card will be Irish super lightweight (140 lbs) contender Pierce O’Leary (15-0, 8 KO’s) whose opponent has yet to be announced.
