AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 1
Get ready for the ultimate showdown this weekend with Talkin’ Fight! Join boxing expert Holly Donovan as she dives into the epic Lawrence Okolie vs David Light bout, exploring their backgrounds and sharing her exclusive predictions. Don’t miss this action-packed episode!
#OkolieVsLight #FightPreview #BoxingPredictions #TalkinFight #HollyDonovan #BoxingExpert #WeekendShowdown #BoxingFans
Transcribed
[, Music, ], hello, everyone and welcome to talk, invite with me holly Donovan.
This is your preview show and I will be previewing two different fights on Saturday, the 25th of March, one which is happening in Manchester and one which is happening in Telford.
So the one in Telford is on BT Sport, that is a Queensbury boxing night and I will be previewing a fight that is on that under card with Raven Chapman versus Linda, Laura lecker um.
I love Raven Chapman, which is what I’ve decided to focus on her.
Also, I think she’s one of the best female prospects of them, which is really really incredible.
Um now the other fight uh that I will be previewing is a boxer night which will be happening on Sky um and I’m going to be previewing the headlining slide, which will be Lawrence of Coley versus David light cruiserweight World Championship.
So without further Ado, let’s begin with, but arguably I think the a bigger fight which is Lawrence of curly versus David lights um.
So I’m going to start with Lawrence he’s our London boy.
He is from Hackney um.
Now he is the current WBO Cruiserweight Champion.
He won that in 2021 um he has 18 and oh, he has a big fat.
Oh 14 of his friends have come by way of knockout um, really brilliant fire, 30 years old, uh famous for a Long Reach accuracy and some really great power um.
I highly rate Lawrence Kohler actually really entertaining player too um.
Now he is a team GB graduate.
He fought as a heavyweight on that team um.
He was at the 2016 Olympics.
He narrowly missed out on a medal.
He lost to the guy that eventually got the bronze medal, I think so, but uh in 2017 he became Pro and arguably that’s when his career really started.
He came to boxing pretty late, which I’ll go into, which is probably why and that will make sense.
Now.
Lawrence’S last fight uh was against Michael seismax slack.
However, you want to say he uh was 23 and two, so 23 wins two losses: 17 KO.
So a very good opponent, Florence, arguably one of the top and also a previous World Champ uh.
He won that fight via unanimous decision.
I would say Lawrence did dominate uh.
However, it was a really good fight.
So if you want to see some of his power and technicality watch that fight um previous to that uh, it was a fight against Dylan pasovich, really easy fight KO in round three.
So if you want to see something performance, superpower go on YouTube and check out that one um.
Now, as I said, the Michael size like fight uh was in February 2022.
So, yes, he has had 13 months out of the ring.
Now you have probably seen and read and heard um it works.
Obviously you follow Roxanne.
He had a lot of trouble with his ex promoter.
Eddie Eddie Hearn at match room and he was frustrated because of inactivity.
Obviously, they have different stories going on um, but essentially he wanted more fights and didn’t think he had enough fights and he wanted to stay out of his contract.
He managed it.
He is now with Ben Shalom over at boxer.
I would argue, that’s a really good call, because Ben Shalom has got a decent amount of Cruiser weights in his stable there’s.
Some really good domestic fights to be had there as well.
So I think, we’ll see a lot more fights from Lawrence Coley and it was a good move and also Lawrence Coley has got a new trainer, so he was previously with Shane mcguigan and was doing really well, obviously he’s undefeated, but he is now with Sugar Hill And we all know Sugar Hill he’s Tyson’s trainer, uh famous for really you know, honing in on that epic Power Punch, um Lawrence kind of already has that I’d say so.
This might be a really good fit um.
When asked in interviews this week, Lawrence is saying that they’re working on consistency together and lots of new things he’s learning he’s really enjoying it.
Um he’s only been with him for two months, so I don’t think we’ll see a completely different or it’s a curly but it’ll be interesting to see some of the new skills that he’s picked up: um yeah, so I’m quite looking forward to that now uh.
He is really comfortable about this fight against David, like David likes, his mandatory Challenger he’s super chilled he’s like yeah, no problem, no one’s really, you know caused me any trouble so we’ll see, um Lawrence came to boxing pretty late uh.
He has quite a cool stories.
I’Ll tell you a little bit of it um.
He was actually quite over 18, a little socializing in chicken shops working in McDonald’s.
He was fearful of gangs.
In fact, he told a story of when he was 14 years old and 20 gang members turned up to come and beat him up and a guy with a dog intervened and pretty much well I’d, say, probably saved his life um.
Now he was working in McDonald’s in London 2012 when all of a sudden on the screen there are the London Olympics and AJ is there Anthony Joshua comes on and obviously we will know what he did at the Olympics and it’s seriously inspires Lawrence Coley um.
He sees a lot of similarities between him and AJ.
I mean size for one also of Nigerian descent and also the fact that they both got into a bit of trouble um, and he saw this as a moment.
It was an inspiration and it completely changed.
His life Lawrence quit his job the very next day he went to the gym and he lost five Stone.
Now he had done a little bit boxing at Kyle, but this is when he decided to do it properly, and he said he did.
He was thinking about going to UNI and becoming a social worker, but when this, when he saw AJ, it was like everything just just became clear was what he wanted to do: um so uh.
That’S when he decided to obviously go into the amateurs and then into the pros and obviously why everything’s a little bit late, yeah um he’s also published a book called black voices um.
He really cares about, I think, inspiring people just like AJ inspired him.
He wants to inspire others, so he is trying to get kids to look up to good inspirational people rather than flashy gang members who make life look awesome, even though it’s not um.
Now I would say that Lawrence’s toughest opponents will probably come um.
He had a fight with Christoph Gracky.
He got TKO in round six, however he’s a previous world champion.
So it was, it was a kind of a tough fight for him.
Um he’s also for Isaac Chamberlain.
That was back in 2018, again unanimous decision, so he has been in the ring with some tough opponents and also what’s quite cool about this.
Is that he’s now managed by AJ, so it’s kind of comple circle with sprinkle.
Now here’s mandatory Challenger for this cruiserweight World title is David light.
Here’S a kiwi, he is from New Zealand.
He is 31 years old and he’s 20-0, so he’s earned this place.
Um uh 12 of his wins have come by way of knockout.
So one of these guys will lose his o um.
Now David light is the current WBO Global International and Oriental champion, and he won those titles um back in December 22, that was in Florida and that was against Brandon glanton, it’s a split decision, but I watched that back and I don’t think it is.
I think David light won that quite comfortably, but uh see what you think um now this is his UK debut, but he said he’s super used to being the underground Underdog um and he is very happy with you know, going into other countries and you know being Booed at first and then it all going.
Okay, so we’ll see he did have an ACL injury actually in 22, but he has been pretty active and now he had a good amateur career actually uh.
He was at the Commonwealth Games.
He won a silver uh metal.
There that was the one in Glasgow and he was the heavyweight.
Then that was in 2014.
um.
Now he had a super bad opinion of the pros.
Didn’T want to go pro so nah, it’s just stupid.
You know he didn’t think it was a skilled um, but he became quite frustrated by the amateurs and the lack of funding, so he actually took two and a half years out now there are some pretty awesome interviews with him actually where he talks about his time.
During that two and a half years out um, he openly says you know he was really depressed.
He was on the sofa watching YouTube, um, very unhappy person and then Along Comes national super middleweight champion.
Oh he’s like Peach, who is his trainer and he inspired him.
Like come on, get off that sofa come come into the pros um and since then he has actually taken back his old comments.
He’S like, oh actually, the pros are quite tricky and I’m quite enjoying being there, and so here in Pro 2017, exactly the same as Lawrence akolu.
Now he had 10 fights in his first year, so he absolutely went for it um and he has been super super active, so other fights in uh last year 22, and there was a TKO of Anthony Martinez, who’s 15 and two.
That was around one KO.
There was another fight before that which was around 2K, that was against vikas Singh, who again is 11 and 4.
.
So these are decent opponents, not previous world champions like Lawrence Coley’s.
However, they are good, um he’s earned his place.
He’S earned this mandatory fight.
I would say now, interestingly, he was actually offered this fire against Florence Coley a couple years ago, with one week’s notice a bit of a joke, though I can’t believe people do that um and he said no, how dare you I? I will do this fight when I’m properly prepared.
So here he is a couple of years later he’s had a proper camp in New Zealand.
He is here he is ready, he’s prepped really really well and he’s going to have to reflect.
Well, to be honest, because I would uh heavily favor Lawrence colia’s favorite here um, I think he’s gon na have to start slowly.
He’S gon na have to maintain his accuracy.
He has a a he goes in and out on.
Quite a straight line.
He’S gon na have to change it up um, but if he’s you know, if he’s studying Lawrence Coley, we could see something we could see something really fun here.
There was a big fat height and reach difference.
Lawrence Coley has got a lot of inches on him.
So we’ll see how that goes, you know um also a little fact for you.
You know how I love a little fact: um David light.
His dad is a famous inventor that made a yogurt maker anyway.
I just like to throw those facts in for you.
Anyway.
Let’S now move over to the second fight that I would like to preview for you today, um and that will be a Queensbury fight that is over on BT Sport.
So watch this one first, because it’s on the undercard um and this is Raven Chapman, looking to go 6-0 against Linda, Laura lecker.
Now she was supposed to have a different opponent for this.
So if you’ve seen posters with somebody else, uh she’s actually dropped out because of illness.
Or was she scared? I don’t, but I said well, no, I’m sorry.
It was illness, so um Raven, Chapman 5-0, two of her wins, have come by way of knockout.
She is a featherweight at 29 years old and let me tell you something: she has power as a featherweight serious power as a featherweight watch, her fights on YouTube.
I think she is one of the most technically skilled and Powerful prospects um in in well, not just featherweights, like as women boxers right now.
I think she’s, brilliant um, please check her out.
Please tune into this fight.
I I just know she’s going to be great.
Um now she is the current WBC International featherweight Champion uh, who won that in five fights not bad.
She won that in October last year, against Georgina Giuliani.
That was a unanimous decision in Manchester uh.
Then she had a fight literally like one month after in November.
Against Fatima gazidoo, who is no Journey woman she had had 19 wins previous to that, and that was in Dubai.
That’S the fight that I think you should watch so if you want to check out Raven, Chapman and before tomorrow be like okay.
What’S she like? Look up that Raven Chapman against uh Fatima easy.
Do she really shows her skills book about Raven, Chapman’s opponent here so know her journeyman here at all whatsoever, Linda lauralecker? She is a 15 and five uh with three Kos two draws.
She is from Peru.
She’S, 34 years old, so she’s five years, older than Reagan Chapman.
Now she is a good Fighter.
Um now her last fight.
Yes, it was a loss.
It was a unanimous decision, uh to Daniela azero.
That was on the 3rd of December last year.
However, it was a world title fight um.
It was for the IBO super flyweight World title in Chile, um, so really tough fight and two wins before that.
So the two other wins well, two of the fights that she had in 22.
Both wins a unanimous decision against Roosevelt or Escobar and a technical decision against Erica cederna.
They were both in Peru and now.
Linda has challenged five times for the the world, Superfly weight title and she won it.
She won the WBA World Superfly and that was in August 2019 against Karina Fernandez, that was in Spain and she won it by a unanimous decision.
She held that title for two years in 2016 to 2018.
.
So, like I keep saying this is a proper opponent for Raven.
This is a really decent opponent um.
However, you heard uh that was Superfly.
This fight is up featherweight, so yeah she’s, coming up a lot of weight divisions for this um 11 pounds she’s coming up.
Nearly a stone, however, people like Terry Harper, uh and Natasha Jonas, have proved that for a woman going up in weights, it is not necessarily a difficult thing.
In fact it could.
It could find you success some serious success.
Um, I don’t know if that’s worrying for Raven Chapman at all, we’ll have to wait and see.
However, I do think this is going to be really decent fight, because of that, because here we’ve got someone who’s really experienced.
Uh she’s been in the ring for many years, she’s been in some tough fights, she’s challenged for those World titles.
So going up and wait going for this International by the way uh title uh.
I think the Raven Chapman is going to have to fight her way through this.
I do think she’ll win and obviously because I think Raven’s, brilliant um.
However, this isn’t going to be easy.
I think this has the makings, have a really decent fight to watch and now Linda began when she was 16, so very similar to Raven uh.
She said that boxing was a family tradition, uh her.
I think it was her dad and her grandfather.
They were both boxers in Peru and and for her 12th birthday.
Her present was some gloves and a bag bag.
Sorry she’s been fighting for a very long time.
She went pro in 2010, so she’s got 11 years worth of experience on Raven Chapman um.
She was also on a boxing reality TV show in Mexico uh.
She had three wins on that show, but they weren’t officially legally sanctioned.
So they are not on her stats, so she’d actually be 18 and five if they were on there and she had to think about giving up in 2012, but she kept going because she had the dream.
She wanted to be that world champion.
Uh obviously Managed IT.
Can she now do it in a second weight category uh? She had one fight per year from 2015 to 2017.
, but I’d argue that’s probably because of lack of lack of opponents um.
So in 2022 she had three fights exactly the same as Raven.
So much more active getting back into it, and these are all the reasons why you should watch this fight tomorrow night, it’s going to be good um we’ve got some come forward Fighters with a lot of power and technicality.
So what more could you want now? This light is going to be on the Nathan Heaney versus Jack Flatley fire.
They are headlining the Queensbury card uh, which is on BT Sports.
So this is going to start a lot earlier, like 7 45-ish so tune in from around then um and then switch over uh to Skye to go and watch lots of Coley versus David light on there.
So there’s a big low boxing you can, you can pick and choose.
You have two screens going if you want um have a lot of fun: uh they’re both happening over on UK time uh.
Just let you know now tune in next week as well.
Uh because there’ll be a preview show AJ is back yes, Anthony Joshua will be fighting again against Jermaine Franklin.
Sorry, I’m pretty excited, I’m really glad he’s back um, so please tune in for another episode of talking back with Holly Donovan same time.
Next week, 2PM UK time for your previews of fight nights ahead I’ll see you soon have a great weekend and enjoy the boxing.
Thank you.
[ Music, ]
Contact The Hosts