Okolie v Light LIVE: Start time, undercard and how to follow title fight

Cruiserweight world champion Lawrence Okolie will take on New Zealand’s David Light in Manchester this weekend.

‘The Sauce’ won the vacant WBO title by seeing off Krzysztof Glowacki in March 2021 and has defended it twice since against Dilan Prasovic and Michal Cieslak.

But Okolie has not fought since his decision win at The O2 Arena over Cieslak in February last year.

The rest of 2022 was frustrating for the Hackney-born star and he is now eager to make up for lost time this year.

Light is the mandatory challenger to Okolie’s WBO belt.

The 31-year-old has a perfect 20-0 record but has never fought someone of Okolie’s calibre.

And at the weigh-in, Okolie tipped the scales at 200lbs (90.7kg), while his opponent came in at 198.25lbs (89.9kg).

Okolie vs Light: Date and start time

This 12-round cruiserweight world title bout will take place on Saturday, March 25.

It is being held at the Manchester Arena – the venue where Okolie made his professional debut with a 20-second knockout win over Geoffrey Cave in March 2017.

The undercard will get going from 6pm with the main event ringwalks expected at 10pm.

Okolie vs Light: How to follow

talkSPORT will have full coverage of the fight throughout the week and talkSPORT.com will be running a live blog of fight night too.

The event will also be shown on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm.

Okolie vs Light: Undercard

Frazer Clarke’s original opponent Rydell Booker was forced to withdraw through illness, meaning former WBA world interim heavyweight title challenger Bogdan Dinu has stepped in.

Booker was taken to hospital last weekend but is back at home recovering and Dinu has filled in at short notice.

Meanwhile, at the weigh-in for Michael Gomez Jr’s fight against Levi Giles things turned violent.

After coming face-to-face, Giles was shoved to the floor by his opponent before security quickly stepped in, so it will be fascinating to see what happens when they face off this weekend.

• Main event: Lawrence Okolie vs David Light – for WBO cruiserweight title
• Frazer Clarke vs Bogdan Dinu
• Michael Gomez Jnr vs Levi Giles
• Callum Simpson vs Celso Neves
• Rhys Edwards vs Brian Phillips
• Samuel Antwi vs Omir Rodriguez
• Shakiel Thompson vs Robert Talarek
• Karriss Artingstall vs Linzi Buczynskyj
• Frankie Stringer vs Jakub Laskowski
• Harvey Lambert vs Casey Brown

Okolie vs Light: What has been said? 

Okolie is targeting three big fights this year following his frustrating 2022.

He said: “I’m hoping for three fights. That’s what me and the team are working towards.

“Obviously I have to stay injury free, but I am expecting three fights this year

“I’ve stayed in shape, and kept my mind focused on what I love to do, which is boxing.

“I’m just looking forward to getting in there and doing my job.”

Meanwhile, Light said: “We’ve had our eye on Okolie for a few years.

“We knew this was happening and we’ve been preparing for it for a few years now. I’ve known that this is what it was going to be.

“Okolie got bits that he can be exploited too. He’s obviously got a massive right hand, he’s got the height and he uses his height. He can avoid danger in that way.”