On Saturday night, WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie returned to Sky Sports to retain his world championship in a confident unanimous decision victory over the previously-undefeated mandatory contender David Light at the AO Arena, Manchester.

Despite having been out of the ring for over a year, Okolie dominated the fight with scorecards of: 119-108, 117-110, and 116-112.

The contest was the first with new trainer SugarHill Steward. And the first bout with new promoter Boxxer.

The North London native controlled the range of the fight very successfully with a pawing jab that stopped Light from getting into position to land any damaging shots. 

There was a lot of holding and wrestling throughout the fight, which didn't make for a bout that was easy on the eyes. Okolie would lose a point in the eleventh for excessive holding.

Light showed he has a solid chin by taking several big shots in the later rounds and being able to weather the storm when Okolie had him in trouble.

Okolie said to Sky Sports after the fight: “David Light was extremely tough, but there’s no excuses and we use it to get better. I hurt him in the second half of the fight, and he was dancing round the ring away from me, but he had strong defenses and was able to survive. I’ll fight anyone, if you think you’re good enough to beat me, meet me in the ring and let’s fight.”

There are several options for Okolie's next fight, including unification bouts and domestic showdowns with Richard Riakporhe and Chris Billam-Smith - who are both fighting under the Boxxer banner on Sky Sports.