Mixed grills & bigger biceps - Okolie's heavyweight transformation

Lawrence Okolie, who has won 20 out of 21 pro fights, stopped Lukasz Rozanski in the first round in May

Lawrence Okolie has developed a thicker skin over the past 18 months - emotionally and physically.

The former cruiserweight world champion suffered a first career defeat when he lost his WBO title to Chris Billam-Smith in May 2023.

Okolie was dropped three times and docked points for excessive holding, leading to further criticism of his style and boxing skills.

"I took myself away from any negativity and focused on the realities that I was still a world-class fighter with opportunities," the 31-year-old told BBC Sport.

The defeat was a catalyst for an "inevitable" jump up in divisions.

After a short spell at bridgerweight, he signed with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions and will make his heavyweight debut against German Hussein Muhamed at Wembley's OVO Arena on Saturday.

"I was really struggling to make the cruiserweight limit and when I started struggling to make bridgerweight, I spoke to myself and said enough is enough. It's time to enjoy boxing again," Okolie added.

The 'skinny and drawn' cruiserweight

Hackney-born Okolie is now based in Bahrain but trained at Manchester's Moss Side boxing gym during a short visit to the United Kingdom.

Under the watchful eye of coach Joe Gallagher, Okolie towered over stablemate and current light-middleweight world champion Natasha Jonas as she pummeled his abdomen with left and right hooks.

At 6ft 5in, 'The Sauce' would often hold a large height and reach advantage at cruiserweight.

Weight was the issue, however.

Okolie says outside of training camp his scales peaked at 17st, well above the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit.

"For weeks before I wasn't thinking about the fight but the weigh-in," he said.

"I was having to do long runs, skips, whatever it took to drop the last bit of water weight. I looked skinny and drawn, even though at the time I thought I looked great."

Mixed grills & personal bests

Okolie began piling on the pounds.

With noticeably bigger biceps and wider shoulders, he smirks as he talks about the "luxury" of being able to eat three solid meals.

"At cruiserweight I was having just two meals and intermittent fasting. It was all down to the grams, meal preps, everything had to be done to a T. I had to know the answer," he says.

"Now I can be a bit more like 'whatever'. I can have oats in the morning, pasta at lunch, a mixed grill for dinner. I can get hungry in the night time and allow myself a snack."

Okolie smirks as he discusses hitting personal bests in weight training, though refuses to give specifics because "other heavyweights can probably lift heavier".

That strength has resulted in extra power.

"I can just tell by how the bag reacts, how the pads sound and what my sparring partners say," added Okolie.

'No point putting on extra stones'

Okolie does not need to make weight but knows the importance of not getting carried away with this new-found freedom.

"I still need to make healthy choices," he says while referencing his complex relationship with food.

At 14, he would eat chicken and chips every day after school and his then doctor described him as clinically obese.

His introduction to boxing training was life changing as it introduced him to the importance of nutrition.

A few weeks before his heavyweight debut, Okolie tipped the scales at 18st 6lb, though he plans to drop at least another stone before fight night.

Anthony Joshua weighed 18st for his loss to Daniel Dubois in September, with Dubois a career-heavy 17st 10lb. Tyson Fury was 18st 7lb when he faced Oleksandr Usyk in May.

"As a cruiserweight I sparred a lot of heavyweights and I can take a lot of confidence about how those spars went, so there's no point putting on extra stones and losing speed and sharpness," he said.