Lawrence Okolie Opens Up On His Legal Dispute With Eddie Hearn
He has not fought for almost a year.
WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie has been dealing with more things outside the boxing ring than inside recently.
Recently, he has reflected upon his ongoing legal dispute with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing.
The British boxer says that the tension between the two started after the fight with Michal Cieslak back in February. He says that the promotional agreement with Hearn ended when the promoter refused to match other offers presented to him.
Hearn has rejected the claims of the 30-year-old, stating that the unbeaten boxer owes one more match to the Matchroom. Hence, both parties are involved in a legal dispute and hope to reach a resolution on the matter.
“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 told 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.”
As a result of this dispute, Okolie hasn’t been seen in the boxing ring for almost a year.