David Light

Kiwi boxer David Light couldn't drag Lawrence Okolie into deep waters in his bid to dethrone the reigning WBO cruiserweight champion, falling to a unanimous ...

While he followed that shot up with two more strong rights that connected with the target, Light was able to stay on his feet and force clinches as he recovered. While he did some of his best work as the fight got into the championship rounds, Light found himself in big trouble at times. Light was given four rounds on another scorecard, and two rounds on the third.

The Kiwi challenger throws everything at the WBO cruiserweight champion but is soundly outpointed in a scrappy, foul-filled affair at the AO Arena.

"I thought I’d watched enough to see enough, but it was just kind of weird I got caught by it. There were times I had success, I just wasn't able to capitalise on it." Two judges had him winning 97-93 and 97-94, while the other scored it 96-95 in Giles' favour. "I thought I lost, so don't really care what the scorecards are," a gutted Light reflected to Stuff afterwards. You've got to kind of play it safe. “I think I neutralised his offence pretty well, and then that was creating opportunities for me. But then you come out and you feel like you've got a whole lot left to give, which is never a good feeling when you lose. You want to feel like you've given everything. "I just couldn't get the last shot to drop him and get him out of there because he was very tough and very good with his hand defences." The defeat was Light's first as a professional, but he showed he could mix it at world level and earned the respect of the British audience with his gutsy effort. "David Light was extremely tough and he had a good tactic of moving around to his right," a sporting Okolie said afterwards, paying tribute to his vanquished rival, who displayed all the durability and toughness that took him to the mandatory position for the Londoner's world title. But Auckland's Light (20-1, 12 KOs) gave Okolie (19-0, 14 KOs) all he could handle over 12 keenly contested rounds, overcoming some serious adversity in the 11th round when he looked on the verge of being stopped to hear the final bell and deny the crowd the knockout finish they craved.

Kiwi David Light has failed in his bid to claim the WBO cruiserweight title, falling to a unanimous decision defeat to reigning champion Lawerence Okolie at ...

Okolie was aiming to send out a warning to the leading fighters at cruiserweight, the division he owns the WBO title in, and heavyweight, but it wasn't his best ...

Despite making a slow start, Gomez Jr rallied in the middle rounds and his energetic approach gave him a split decision verdict to become English super-featherweight champion. Celso Neves is known on British shores for taking Felix Cash the eight round distance at the backend of last year but he couldn't manage three rounds against the impressive Callum Simpson. Was that Okolie's only chance to end matters early or will he get another one?

Eagle-eyed fans caught the New Zealand national anthem singer reading lyrics off her hand ahead of Lawrence Okolie vs David Light.Ahead of world title.

As for his next fight, Okolie said: “I will go in the ring and fight anyone. She legit had the New Zealand national anthem lyrics written on her hand so she didn’t forget.” “But, at the end of the day, there’s no need to make excuses – just get better.

'The Sauce' defended his WBO cruiserweight world title to move on to bigger challenges in the future, but it was a dull fight that left fans unsatisfied with ...

As for his next fight, Okolie said: “I will go in the ring and fight anyone. talkSPORT is also widely available across the UK on 1089 or 1053 AM. “But, at the end of the day, there’s no need to make excuses – just get better.

Isaac Peach accuses referee Bob Williams of allowing Lawrence Okolie to get away with illegal tactics in his scrappy points win over the Kiwi challenger in ...

He could have kept circling to the right and played it safe and got through that fight, but he didn't. Because I 100% believe he will," Peach said. He got hurt badly twice, and that was because he wanted to win." "Every time David's going to try and get there [on the inside] it's dangerous. "Watching Lawrence on TV is a lot different from being in the ring with Lawrence, he is extremely big. To me that was disgusting, but I don't think it would have changed the result."