Cruiserweight colleagues turned rivals Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith came face to face today at a press conference in central London to announce their upcoming May 27th blockbuster at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth (photos by Lawrence Lustig)

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Chaired by BOXXER’s founder and CEO Ben Shalom alongside Sky Sports’ Andy Scott, the press conference also brought British cruiserweight Mikael Lawal and his challenger Isaac Chamberlain together, leading to heated scenes when they faced off for photographs. 

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Former training partners Okolie and Billam-Smith were cordial with one another, declaring the fight to be “strictly business” for which they would set their friendship aside, though - based on their past sparring - Okolie did predict an “action-packed” encounter with “lots of punches thrown”.

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