Lawrence Okolie Knocks Out Prasovic To Retain WBO Cruiserweight Title

Lawrence Okolie Knocks Out Prasovic To Retain WBO Cruiserweight Title By Our Reporter Britain's Lawrence Okolie retained his world cruiserweight title with a comfortable third-round knockout of Dilan Prasovic. Fighting on the Joshua-Usyk undercard, Okolie floored the Montenegrin with a punishing right hand in the second round, before a left-hand body shot finished the contest in the third. It was the unbeaten 28-year-old's 17th victory and his 14th by knockout. Earlier in the night, Callum Smith beat Lenin Castillo, also by knockout. Liverpudlian Smith claimed a second-round win in his first fight at light-heavyweight. Castillo left the ring on a stretcher and the 33-year-old Dominican was taken to hospital as a precaution. Okolie barely broke a sweat as he cruised past the unbeaten Prasovic inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The 26-year-old remained on his feet after being caught by Okolie's big right hand, only to hit the floor seconds later as the Briton launched another attack in the second round. Another big right missed the target before the follow-up ended the bout. Prasovic did not look at the referee as he was counted out. All eyes now turn to a potential unification bout with IBF world champion Mairis Briedis, something trainer Shane McGuigan alluded to in his post-fight interview. Britain's Smith was making his first appearance since losing his world super-middleweight world title against Saul Canelo Alvarez in his last bout in December 2020. He quickly settled into the higher weight with a flurry of successful shots before throwing a punishing right hand over the top. Castillo landed heavily on the canvas and immediately received attention from the medics on site before being taken from the stadium. Britain's Campbell Hatton also retained his unbeaten record with a points win over Sonny Martinez. The Uruguayan appeared to land the better shots, with several uppercuts reaching their target, but the decision went the way of the 20-year-old Mancunian.