Lawrence Okolie Reportedly Set To Face Veteran Luis Ortiz In The UK In Second Heavyweight Fight

Former world cruiserweight king Lawrence Okolie is set for his second heavyweight bow in the next few months, with several sources revealing his next heavyweight assignment will be against Cuban veteran Luis Ortiz in the UK.

Lawrence Okolie vs Luis Ortiz In The Works For Heavyweight Bout

After moving up from cruiserweight to bridgerweight before his move to heavyweight, Lawrence Okolie is on the lookout for his next opponent.

‘The Sauce’ made a successful return to the ring on his Queensberry Promotions debut in December, with a one round blowout of Hussein Muhamad in London. Now, the former WBO World Cruiserweight Champion is aiming for a big 2025 after signing with Frank Warren and Queensberry.

There had been rumours that Okolie could get in the ring with fellow Brit Dillian Whyte, but it now seems Team Okolie are going down a different route. After a successful heavyweight debut and a big year ahead, it looks like the 32-year-old could face a former two-time world heavyweight title challenger.

Mike Coppinger of ESPN has reported that Okolie is in talks to fight heavyweight veteran Luis Ortiz in his next fight. Ortiz, who is now 45-years-old, has fought just once in over three years. Not only that, but it is also well documented that Ortiz could actually be a fair bit older than his reported age.

Now it seems that Okolie and his team are in negotiations to fight the Cuban heavyweight veteran in the UK in the summer. An exact target date is yet to be revealed, but it could be a fight for the early summer in London.

‘King Kong’ fought once last year with an east first round stoppage over the unheralded Francisco Cordero, but has been largely inactive for the past three years. This fight comes as a surprise to everyone, with many people thinking Ortiz may have already retired.

Former cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie, now campaigning at heavyweight, is in talks to fight Luis Ortiz in the U.K., a source told ESPN. Ortiz, 45, returned last January in a shake-off-the-rust fight. It was his first fight since a competitive loss to Andy Ruiz in 2022.

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) January 20, 2025

Win Over Luis Ortiz Could Earn Okolie World Heavyweight Title Shot

The heavyweight landscape is very interesting at the minute, with Oleksandr Usyk the king of the division, with Daniel Dubois not too far behind. Tyson Fury has of course retired and Anthony Joshua has work to do, meaning there could be an opportunity for someone like Lawrence Okolie to take full advantage.

This proposed fight against Luis Ortiz may be a strange one, but it is undeniably a step up in class from his last few bouts. His bridgerweight blowout and heavyweight debut have lasted just over five minutes combined, so Okolie is in desperate need of rounds to shake off any ring rust.

That is something that Luis Ortiz can most definitely provide, with Deontay Wilder the only man able to stop the great Cuban veteran. Ortiz’s only other defeat came to former world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr via decision, so he can most definitely give Okolie problems and questions to answer.

That being said, given the age of Ortiz and his inactivity, Lawrence Okolie would go into the heavyweight bout as an overriding favourite with the best boxing betting sites in the UK. Not only that, but the best betting apps would have him as a shoe in to win via knockout too.

Time will tell if the fight actually comes to fruition or not, but it seems that it could well be in the works. If Mike Coppinger’s sources are anything to go by, UK boxing fans could see ‘The Sauce’ back in the ring relatively soon on UK shores.