Lawrence Okolie puts Dilan Prasovic away in three rounds in first defense
Lawrence Okolie will now begin in earnest his quest to unify the cruiserweight titles.
The WBO beltholder needed only two-plus rounds to stop overmatched Dilan Prasovic on the Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk card Saturday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Okolie’s hometown.
Okolie (17-0, 14 KOs) now has seven consecutive knockouts.
Lawrence Okolie finishes Prasovic with a vicious body shot
#OkoliePrasovic pic.twitter.com/J8cWT98Y64
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 25, 2021
The 28-year-old champion put Prasovic (15-1, 12 KOs) down with a right hand to the side of the head with around 40 seconds remaining in Round 2. The Montenegrin survived the round but didn’t have much more to offer.
Less than a minute into Round 3, Okolie landed a brutal left to the body that put Prasovic on the canvas and hurt him badly. He was on all fours and in pain when referee Steve Gray reached the count of 10.
Okolie, a 2016 Olympian, was making the first defense of the vacant title he won by stopping former 200-pound champion Krzysztof Glowacki in six rounds this past March.
The 6-foot-5 resident of Hackney has stated that he wants unify the cruiserweight titles and then move up to heavyweight.
The 200-pound beltholders are Mairis Briedis (IBF), Arsen Goulamirian (WBA) and Ilunga Makabu (WBC). Okolie said after his victory that he’d like to face Briedis first because he’s recognized by many as the top cruiserweight.