Lawrence Okolie disputed the referee's point deductions and two of the three knockdowns scored against him when he lost his WBO cruiserweight title to Chris Billam-Smith at Bournemouth's Vitality stadium; On a rematch, Okolie warned: 'I'll empty the tank early. It won't go to points'
Sunday 28 May 2023 19:51, UK
Lawrence Okolie suffered the first defeat of his professional career when Chris Billam-Smith beat him by majority decision to win the WBO cruiserweight world title. But he is determined to come back.
"This is boxing. The main thing I know is I'm down but I'm not out. It was a good performance from Chris," Okolie said.
"But there was nothing in there that made me think he's unbelievable or whatever else. It was just a good performance. He put everything on the line and he got his reward for it, but I will definitely be pushing for a rematch."
Billam-Smith was roared on to victory by his exultant supporters at a sold-out Vitality stadium in Bournemouth.
Okolie though would return to Billam-Smith's hometown to try to win his old title back.
"It was exciting for me. I'm not going to lie. I loved it. It's very hard to recreate that energy for an opponent to come with everything," Okolie said.
"Fighting in someone's back garden and seeing everything they've got. Chris was fantastic, his confidence is probably going to go up off that win. But there's not really much more to it. If I'm going to lose in Bournemouth, I might as well win here."
He is adamant that second time around a fight between them would be different.
"When I was letting the shots go, it was working well. However when I was there forcing it, nothing was coming off and he was able to get short shots off," Okolie said.
"He was able to keep grinding. That along with the first knockdown, good momentum for him played a massive factor. For me it was a few tweaks that could make a big difference.
"I understand the game of boxing, he did well and today's his day and tomorrow will be my day."
Okolie also said the two point deductions the referee took from him were too harsh.
"There's certain positions that you're allowed to get into in boxing and there's no fight in boxing where two people don't come together. Obviously with the occasion and you've got Shane [McGuigan] in the corner: 'He's holding!' Anyone can get flustered," he said.
"The crowd was excited, it's Bournemouth, I was the away fighter in a sense, despite being the champion. For me I should have been better. I wasn't, so you've got to take it and come again."
The three knockdowns in total given against him also left him with a huge deficit on the scorecards.
"I think the first one definitely [was a knockdown]," Okolie said. "I remember thinking, 'Oh, good shot.' I remember when he landed, I think it was a left hook, I said, 'Damn, you got me.'
"By the time [the count] got to four I was alright and then carried on. The other two I didn't really feel like they were knockdowns."
But he added: "At the end of the day I shouldn't getting in those positions anyway. I should be standing up tall and boxing. So I've got to take those on the chin.
"Moments make fights. You get a knockdown, it boosts you for the next couple of rounds."
Okolie did work with ever increasing intensity, and mounting desperation as the rounds went by and the fight started to slip away.
"I hate losing. I'm a winner at heart," Okolie said. "I was watching Lennox Lewis' documentary and I saw him take some Ls and come back and that's the kind of energy that I'm feeling right now.
"I'm going to be world champion again."
Billam-Smith, an old friend and a sparring partner of Okolie's, isn't his enemy. But he is a rival and now a world champion.
"I like him as a person," Okolie said of Billam-Smith. "I would obviously have liked to beat him and knock him out but he got the victory here. I don't really feel any ill will towards him. I just want to get him back."
If it comes to a rematch, he also added: "I'll actually empty the tank early. I wouldn't be trying to go points. I'll be trying to just get it done and whatever happens, happens."
