Isaac Chamberlain has insisted that his desire will be the difference when he meets bitter rival Lawrence Okolie in their ‘British Beef’ grudge fight at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.
The cruiserweights clash on a Matchroom-promoted bill, live on Sky Sports, after a long war of words, which will culminate in the ring this weekend.
Chamberlain (9-0, 4KOs) has questioned both the heart and desire of Okolie (7-0, 6KOs) ahead of the 10-round bout, with the MTK Global-backed Brixton native claiming that Saturday’s bout will be too great a step up for his rival.
“Does he really want to fight me? I was looking at fighting people with belts, wins that would move me into the rankings. He’s still got his L-plates on – that’s what [Wadi] Camacho said and he’s right,” said Chamberlain.
“Whoever wants it the most, trained the hardest and executes the game plan, that’s the winner – and I know that it’s going to be me.”
While Okolie has suggested his foe is jealous of the fact that he reached the Rio Olympic Games as an amateur, Chamberlain dismissed the notion.
“He says I am jealous but he called me out? I don’t get that,” said Chamberlain. “He talks like he’s tough but he’s not. He talks because he doesn’t believe in himself.
“Look at the people he’s boxed – the last guy at York Hall looked like he came from finishing doing the grill in a kebab shop to have a fight. Garbage.
“He won three rounds at the Olympics – that doesn’t make you ready for World level in the pros, nowhere near.
“A lot of Olympians have become world champions but you can name hundreds that haven’t, and more people that have won world titles without going to the Olympics.
“You can have the background and the backing but when you are really tested, we’ve seen established amateurs come out of the Olympics into the pros and flop when the going gets tough.”
Chamberlain weighed in at 14st 1lbs 8oz at Friday afternoon’s weigh-in, while Okolie clocked the scales at 14st 3lbs 5oz.
In addition to Chamberlain, MTK Global-managed talents Seán McGoldrick and Charlie Edwards also feature on Saturday’s fight bill in London.
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Isaac Chamberlain wants to celebrate three years as a pro by inflicting a first career to Lawrence Okolie at The O2 in London on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Chamberlain headlines at The O2 after making his debut there three years ago (January 31) and the unbeaten Brixton talent has grafted hard to get to his place at the top of the bill.
The 23 year old passed a gut-check in his sixth fight when he battled through a dislocated shoulder to take the Southern Area Cruiserweight title from Wadi Camacho in September 2016 – and it’s that grit and determination that Chamberlain feels is the difference between the pair.
“It’s going to be an amazing experience headlining my own show at The O2,” said Chamberlain. “From coming from nothing to this stage is humbling. I’m not one of these guys that goes out partying after fights and blow all my money, I’m trying to buy a house, get a mortgage, set my life up and live right, and this is a big fight and one that pays well.
“I want to be great, I want to win belts and I want to fight top fighters. I’ve tasted titles against Camacho and I’m fighting on top of a big bill at The O2, this is what I am in the sport for.
“Nothing has been given to me in boxing, that’s been the case from day one and it still is. I will always have that underdog mentality and go into fights to take everything. I won’t stop at any cost, I’m always going to be in the gym and living right because I don’t want this journey to end.
“I think it’s a good thing that I’ve had to work hard for what I’ve got. Boxing is hard at every level, from bottom to top. When you are a World champion there’s a target on your back and everyone hunts you down, that’s not easy.
“My ride has made me mentally stronger, if I’d had things handed to me, I wouldn’t know what it’s like to dig deep and grit my teeth to get through the tough moments. I know that when it gets tough, I can bite down on the gumshield and get to the other side with the win.”
Chamberlain and Okolie clash on a huge night of action in Greenwich as Watford’s Reece Bellotti puts his Commonwealth Featherweight title on the line for the first time against Crawley’s Ben Jones.
Rising Essex force Ted Cheeseman faces a real step-up in international class against a familiar face in Carson Jones, the Oklahoma man who twice met former Welterweight World ruler Kell Brook and Brian Rose, and won on his most recent visit, stopping Ben Hall last November and comes into the fight after facing modern great Antonio Margarito in September.
Team GB Rio Olympian Joshua Buatsi laces them up for a fourth time in the paid ranks, Paul Butler gets valuable rounds as he hunts a shot at the WBA World Bantamweight crown, former World title challenger Charlie Edwards looks to get back on the road to major honours, and Felix Cash is full of confidence after moving to 7-0 with a second successive first round KO win last week and is looking to land a first title shot at Middleweight in 2018.
Lawrence Okolie says he will make ‘jealous’ Isaac Chamberlain pay for disrespecting his amateur achievements when they clash at The O2 on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Okolie represented Team GB at the Rio games in 2016 before turning pro with Matchroom Boxing under the management of Anthony Joshua’s AJ BXNG.
Chamberlain has been vocal about Okolie’s amateur success in the build-up to the clash, downplaying the Hackney talent’s journey that took him from flipping burgers in McDonald’s to amateur success and the 7-0 record he puts on the line in Greenwich.
“The rivalry on his side stems from jealousy,” said Okolie. “They say that they’ve been watching me since I went to the Olympics as we’ve known each other a long time. They see me as a big money fight and here it is – we’ll see if it’s too early for him or too early for me.
“Can Isaac take my power? Can Isaac take me into the later rounds? We’re all going to find out the reality. I see boxing in a different way to most people. Isaac is a good fighter, he’s fast, good boxing IQ and he’s resilient, but I don’t see that being enough as I am going to get to him and get to him viciously.
“People in Isaac’s gym know what it takes to get into the Olympics because they didn’t get there. He has never taken a risk as an amateur or a professional. He’s been the a-side in all of his fights and all bar two of his opponents have come in off a loss. He’s done nothing to show levels of pedigree, he’s had a life-or-death with Wadi Camacho at Southern Area level.
“They say that everything has been given to me. I get the praise and attention because of what I did in the amateurs and the performances I’ve put in as a pro. If I’d been putting in the performances in the pros that he has, I wouldn’t get this attention.
“I dislike what Isaac represents, it’s a cult of Cruiserweights who are active, come together on social media and backing each other up to talk down to me, “so what he was in the Olympics he’s rubbish” blah blah, they discredit everything I have done.
“They say I’ve had an easy ride, but Eddie Hearn didn’t come to Hackney and take me out of McDonalds, take me to Team GB then take me to Rio for the Olympics.
“Team GB didn’t say ‘only 10 GB fighters can go to Brazil and only 16 fighters can fight in the tournament at each weigh – but do you know what, we’re going to give you the golden ticket and you don’t have to qualify or work hard’.
“The reality is, I’ve worked so hard to get me and it annoys me that he and his team have disrespected what I’ve achieved and how hard I’ve worked to get here and how hard I will work to get to where I want to be.”
Chamberlain and Okolie clash on a huge night of action in Greenwich as Watford’s Reece Bellotti puts his Commonwealth Featherweight title on the line for the first time against Crawley’s Ben Jones.
Rising Essex force Ted Cheeseman faces a real step-up in international class against a familiar face in Carson Jones, the Oklahoma man who twice met former Welterweight World ruler Kell Brook and Brian Rose, and won on his most recent visit, stopping Ben Hall last November and comes into the fight after facing modern great Antonio Margarito in September.
Team GB Rio Olympian Joshua Buatsi laces them up for a fourth time in the paid ranks, Paul Butler gets valuable rounds as he hunts a shot at the WBA World Bantamweight crown, former World title challenger Charlie Edwards looks to get back on the road to major honours, and Felix Cash is full of confidence after moving to 7-0 with a second successive first round KO win last week and is looking to land a first title shot at Middleweight in 2018.
Limited tickets remain on general sale at www.theO2.co.uk priced at £40.