Lawrence Okolie v Lukasz Rozanski

Lawrence Okolie will challenge Lukasz Rozanski for the WBC bridgerweight title on 24 May in Poland.

The former British and European champion has been out of action since losing his WBO cruiserweight title to Chris Billam-Smith in May 2023.

Okolie, 31, has decided to move up to the bridgerweight division, which sits between cruiserweight and heavyweight.

"Rozanski is a good champion with an explosive style but I'm coming to do some serious damage," said Okolie.

"He has never seen power like mine. I'm excited to go to Poland and test myself yet again on away ground."

London-born Okolie represented Team GB at the 2016 Olympics and his bout against Polish fighter Rozanski, who is 38, will be his first above the 200lb limit.

The WBC and WBA are the only bodies that currently recognise the bridgerweight class, which was created in 2020 by the WBC.

Rozanski has won all but one of his 15 fights via knockout and claimed the bridgerweight title in April 2023 by stopping Croatia's previously unbeaten Alen Babic in the first round.

"I'm defending my world title in my own backyard, in my city, fighting against a former world champion," said Rozanski. "It's a fantastic fight. For moments like these, I've trained hard all my life."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/68627687