LAWRENCE OKOLIE retained his WBO cruiserweight title world title after a thrilling match against Michal Chieslak, a Polish limpet.
Fans hoped for a Hollywood performance from the Hackney 29-year old ace, with A-lister pals Anthony Joshua leading him to the ring and UFC icon Israel Adesanya escorting him.
Israel Adesanya and Lawrence Okolie, as well as Anthony Joshua
Cieslak was then pinged with the first punch of the O2 fight, which slashed a hole in his left cheek. He spent the next 11 rounds wrestling and grabbing to win a unanimous decision.
It was called 117-110 by the judges, 116-111 by the judges and 115-112 by the judges. Cieslak was also floored in fifth.
Okolie stated: "I tried pushing the pace and putting my shots together but he made it difficult.
"I was trying find my shots, but he held and smothered. I dropped him in fifth, but he was tough and had a great crowd cheering him along."
Cieslak was a former McDonald's cashier and immediately got to work, firing off jabs at his body and using a large right hand to stun him.
The first serious fight of the fight was nearly the last and left a purple bruise on the left cheekbone of the Pole.
Free Bets: Get more than PS2,000 in NEW CUSTOMER DEALSBy the end of the opener, the mandatory challenger was in serious trouble. Okolie received 60 seconds of praise from Shane McGuigan.
Okolie was drowned out by the Polish crowd, but he was still making the right noises in ring.
After the shellacking in the opener, Cieslak was shell-shocked and eager to hold and maul every opportunity.
Cieslak's initial success was a lefthook he leapt into the clipped Okolie’s bearded neck.
However, 'The Sauce" took the dig and responded with a right hook for Cieslaks ribs as well as a straight shot for his skull.
Cieslak was warned in the fourth by Michael Alexander for cutting Okolie's uppercut. He told them to break, and they began a wrestling match after Alexander pulled them apart.
Cieslak fell to the ground after the fifth shot was taken. Okolie used giant leavers and drove a one-two in his face. He then fell to his knees for eight.
Cieslak's spoiling got tedious in the sixth. He should have been deducted one point to deter him, but Okolie was sometimes just as bad.
Cieslak was only interested to throw illegal rabbit punches at Okolie's back in constant clinches. At the end of the ninth, he fired a final punch at Okolie’s ribs.
Ninety seconds later, the tenth Okolie took his revenge by spearing onto his opponent's jaw with a straight right. Okolie was able to score the same textbook shot again just moments later.
As both men were too tied up, the initial whiff of a stinker quickly turned into a full-blown stench in the eleventh.
The twelfth was not far away, and the possibility of a Sunday train service home began to attract more people than the rest of the bout.
Okolie was thrown to the ground by the last scuffle, but it wasn't ruled a knockdown. The bell rang and the show was over.
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