Two-weight world champion Lawrence Okolie has finally spoken out after he sparred Jake Paul ahead of the controversial meeting with Anthony Joshua.
Former unified heavyweight champion ‘AJ’ is set to face Paul in an eight round heavyweight bout at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday night, live and exclusive on Netflix around the world.
‘The Problem Child’ drafted in the assistance of a number of world-ranked heavyweights ahead of his showdown with Joshua, including Okolie and Cuban contender Frank Sanchez.
There have been some claims that Paul has also been working alongside respected trainer Don Charles who was in the corner when Daniel Dubois knocked out ‘AJ’ in the fifth round of their domestic clash at Wembley Stadium last year.
Speaking to Seconds Out. Okolie shared details of his experience in sparring with Paul as he claims he was surprised by ‘how good’ the former YouTube star was.
“Yeah I was quite shocked. I was quite shocked by how good he is to be honest with you. You know I expected to just go in there and just speak to the coaches ‘How hard do you want me to go with him?’ and they were like ‘Do what you do’ so I went in there and I did what I did and so did the other two guys that were there and like I said I was shocked.
“I think the main thing is experience really. I think he’s someone that trains every day very hard so if you do anything every single day you’re going to get to a good level at it but I do think it is experience like, I don’t know, playing football. You can play, do drills every day, do this every day, but now playing in the Champions League it’s a very different thing.
“The emotions, is it time to push hard, is it too early, you know stuff that you only gain off experience I think is what he’s lacking but if you talk about actual ability he’s actually pretty good.”
Whilst he is faced with the toughest test of his boxing career, Paul appears to be brimming with confidence heading into the controversial showdown in Miami.
Joshua will be looking to mark his long-awaited return to the ring in style on Friday night. The 36-year-old from Watford is in line to clash with domestic rival Tyson Fury next year, meaning he cannot afford to slip up in any way when he faces ‘The Problem Child’.
