Lawrence Okolie, a former two-division boxing champion, is gearing up for his heavyweight debut on December 7 at the OVO Arena Wembley in London. The announcement was made by Queensberry Promotions on Wednesday.
Okolie (20-1, 15 KOs) recently transitioned from Ben Shalom’s BOXXER to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions in mid-October. In his heavyweight debut, he will face Hussein Muhamed of Germany (18-1, 14 KOs), who suffered his only loss by knockout in the third round against Zhan Kossobutskiy in 2022.
Previously, the 31-year-old Okolie held the WBO cruiserweight title, which he lost in 2023 during his fourth defense against Chris Billam-Smith. Billam-Smith is set to compete against Gilberto Ramirez in a unification bout this November. Okolie’s last fight was a first-round technical knockout victory over Lukasz Rozanski in Poland in May, where he secured the WBC bridgerweight title.
The December 7 event will also feature Denzel Bentley (20-3-1, 17 KOs), ranked No. 2 by the WBO, going up against No. 4 Brad Pauls (19-1-1, 11 KOs) in a middleweight matchup for the British and WBO international titles. Bentley previously showcased his skills in a close decision loss to middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in 2022, while Pauls achieved a notable victory over popular ticket-seller Nathan Heaney with a last-round stoppage in July.
Additional fights on the card include a clash between British heavyweights Solomon Dacres (9-0, 3 KOs) and David Adeleye (12-1, 11 KOs) for the English championship. Rising lightweight star Sam Noakes (15-0, 14 KOs), who recently signed a long-term extension with Queensberry, will take on Ryan Walsh (29-4-2, 13 KOs) for the British, Commonwealth, and WBO international titles.
The event will also feature a cruiserweight bout between Aloys Junior (8-1, 7 KOs) and Lewis Oakford (6-1, 0 KOs), as well as a match for the vacant English welterweight title between Sean Noakes (8-0, 4 KOs) and Mathew Rennie (13-0-1, 1 KO). Additionally, super lightweight prospect Pierce O’Leary (15-0, 8 KOs) will return to the ring against an opponent yet to be determined.
