WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie has an issue with Matchroom Boxing that has kept out of the ring for nearly one year.
Okolie who made a world title defense against Michal Cieslak back in February, has not been in the ring since.
It is simply a ‘he said, she said’ story at this point, as Okolie says he is out of his contract, and Hearn as well as Matchroom disagree.
“I’ve got a new deal that I presented, I said, ‘Matchroom, you don’t even need to match these numbers, just get close and I’ll stay with you.’ They said, ‘Absolutely not, if you wanna take that new deal, you’re gonna have to pay my company £500,000,’” Okolie confided to IFL TV. “Our contract’s come to an end, you either pay more or I move on. Eddie Hearn of all people should really understand. He was with Sky for years, had amazing shows, built up a host of fighters. Then a $1 billion check came and Eddie ran off to DAZN.”
Recently the WBO mandated that Okolie face David Light. The purse bid is scheduled for next week.