Recently, WBC (World Boxing Council) Global President Mauricio Sulaiman expressed his desire to arrange a match between former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) and current WBC Bridgerweight titlist Lawrence Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs).
Sulaiman stated, “I am certain that if Wilder is willing to challenge the WBC Bridgerweight World Champion, I can facilitate him as the challenger, but we have not received an application from him at this time.”
The 38-year-old Wilder was TKO’d by Zhang Zhilei (27-2-1, 22 KOs) in the fifth round on June 2nd, marking the most decisive loss of his career. It’s possible that Wilder is still contemplating whether to continue fighting, especially after losing four of his last five contests, which has significantly impacted his confidence.
Thirty-one-year-old Lawrence Okolie has a professional record of 20 wins and one loss, with 15 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Previously, Okolie held the WBO cruiserweight title, successfully defending it three times before losing a unanimous decision to compatriot Mairis Briedis. In May, he moved up to the Bridgerweight division (with a 224-pound limit), knocking out Rossy (15-1, 14 KOs) in the first round to become the WBC-224-pound world champion.
Standing at 6’5″ with a reach of 79 inches, Okolie is similar in size to Wilder, but his punching power lags behind that of the Bronze Bomber. The WBA has also established a super-cruiserweight category, corresponding to the WBC’s Bridgerweight division with the same 224-pound limit. However, both the IBF and WBO have refused to introduce a new weight class at this weight, making it challenging to promote the division effectively.