NEWS: LAWRENCE OKOLIE TALKS ISSUES WITH MATCHROOM

By: Jay Calderon

Cruiserweight titlist Lawrence Okolie has been out of action since February of this year, but it hasn't been due to injury or a lack of effort on his part to get back to work.

Unfortunately, as is all too common in the sport, Okolie has been going through legal issues with his promoter/former promoter that has kept him shelved for the better part of 2022.

For most of his career, Okolie has worked with promotional outfit Matchroom Boxing, having partnered with the Eddie Hearn-lead stable all the way to a championship win in March of 2021. Perhaps, with all of this history, you find the reason Okolie would tell iFL TV that he has no personal issue with the company -- despite recent professional issues.

"...Obviously, there's been a lot of stuff that's gone on behind the scenes," Okolie told Kugan Cassius "If you talk about Matchroom, over the years, I've gotten to know all the staff very well. From the drivers to -- just everyone in the actual organization. I love Matchroom.

"Me and Eddie, we had a good business relationship. It's sort of broken down. But when we speak, it's not 'F-you, I hate you'. Obviously, he's a businessman, he has his ideas of what he wants to do with his business. I'm a boxer, I have an idea of what I want to do with my career. That's it, really," Okolie stated.

The "break down" between the sides stems from a disagreement of contract length and terms. According to Hearn, Okolie owes Matchroom an additional fight. Effectively, Cassius claimed Hearn said, during an interview, that Okolie's late replacement opponent Nikodem Jeżewski in December of 2020, was a fight that took place outside of the original agreement. Because of that stipulation, Okolie would need to fight once more before the agreement would been deemed fulfilled.

Okolie counters, saying that he was never made aware of the Jezewski fight being outside of said agreement, and that he never signed off on an additional contest with Matchroom. Okolie also claimed he has hired outside legal help to ensure that his belief on the subject is in accordance with British law.

The Londoner also noted that Hearn and his team didn't mention the extra fight during the initial portion of their negotiations for a new deal. Lawrence claims both parties came to the table earlier this year with the understanding that the terms of the contract had been met and a new deal would have to be brokered. It was only when Okolie made Hearn aware that he had received other offers for more money and wanted Matchroom to "come close" to matching the numbers that Eddie began suggesting that his company was owed another contest.

Hearn has suggested Okolie is showing signs of being disloyal with these negotiations, but Okolie clearly disagrees. He believes Hearn is simply used to getting his own way, and has resorted to these tactics when a fighter of Lawrence's caliber tells him no.

"...When you want to talk about loyalty: Eddie and Matchroom are loyal to the bottom line, that's the numbers. They don't do it for charity and neither do I. I'm a boxer trying to get the most for my career. I've fulfilled all my contractual obligations...I did everything by the contract, and by law," Okolie claims.

"Unfortunately, when you get [a promoter] who has never had someone at my level leave...[he] feels like he's owed and entitled to me indefinitely. But that doesn't mean I'm disloyal. Our contracts come to an end, you either pay more or we move on."

Okolie then compared his situation to that of Hearn's time at British television giant Sky Sports. While the partnership between the entities had was fruitful, it ultimately came to an end in 2021 when Hearn left Sky for streaming broadcaster DAZN because of a better deal.

"Eddie Hearn of all people is someone who should understand [business]. His dad owned Matchroom, passed it down to him. They were at Sky, they had amazing shows. They built up [former Heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua] and a host of other fighters. Then, a billion dollar check came and Eddie Hearn went and ran off to DAZN," said Okolie, who also claimed Hearn wanted £500,000 to release Lawrence from the company.

Regardless of any disagreements, Okolie claims he has no issue working with Matchroom in the future, he simply wants the best deals available. Currently, Okolie has a mandatory defense scheduled for purse bid later this month for a clash with New Zealand fighter David Light. If Matchroom were to put forth the winning bid, Okolie claims he would happily accept the contest.

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