The new WBC heavyweight rankings have been released, and there is a new name in the current top 10. Britain’s Lawrence Okolie, who won the WBO belt down at cruiserweight and the WBC bridgerweight belt, a title he chose to vacate, is now ranked five as a heavyweight. It’s perhaps surprising to see “The Sauce” ranked one spot above his friend and former spar-mate Anthony Joshua, currently ranked at number 6.
Okolie, courtesy of his new ranking, is in line for a shot at the WBC heavyweight title, which is owned right now by Oleksandr Usyk. Okolie has yet to box his heavyweight debut, but there has been some talk that it could come against Fabio Wardley sometime early next year; Wardley, of course, is coming off that chilling, first-round KO of Frazer Clarke; Wardley is currently ranked at number 7 in the WC heavyweight rankings. So, can 31-year-old Okolie make history by becoming a three-weight world champion?
We will have to wait and see, and Okolie could lose his heavyweight debut; who knows? But at 6’5” and with good athleticism and a heck of a long reach, Okolie, who has plenty of ring experience at both amateur and pro levels, might become a real force to be reckoned with at heavyweight. Beaten only by Chris Billam-Smith, this via close decision, Okolie looked fast and powerful during his brief stop-off in the bridgerweight division, Okolie wiping out Lukasz Rozanski in a round to win the WBC belt.
Again, it will be interesting to see who Okolie fights in his heavyweight debut and whether he can get a shot at the world title at some point.
The new WBC heavyweight top 10 reads as follows:
Champ – Oleksandr Usyk
1: Tyson Fury
2: Agit Kabayel
3: Martin Bakole
4: Zhilei Zhang
5: Lawrence Okolie
6: Anthony Joshua
7: Fabio Wardley
8: Efe Ajagba
9: Bakhodir Jalolov
10: Frank Sanchez.
So, is Okolie ranked far too high, or is he entitled to his lofty heavyweight ranking as a former two-weight champion?
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