Boxing fans already know that undefeated cruiserweight Lawrence “The Sauce” Okolie is a dangerous-punching 6′ 5″ tall, 200-lb top contender. But if Okolie (14-0, 11 KOs) is victorious this Saturday against Nikodem Jezewski (19-0-1, 9 KOs) for the WBO International title, he will be just one victory away from becoming the world’s first full vegan to win a cruiserweight world championship and just the second to win any world championship in all of boxing history.
Okolie, who once worked flipping burgers for $8 an hour at McDonald’s in London’s Victoria train station, cannot become boxing’s first vegan to win a belt. That distinction is reportedly owned by former WBC middleweight world champion Keith Holmes, but Okolie could become boxing’s only current vegan champion.
Former heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings, a devout plant-based advocate, came close to winning a heavyweight championship in his two world-title challenges, but ultimately fell short.
“I switched because I have a few friends who are vegan,” explains Okolie of his move to a plant-based diet. “They told me my energy levels would increase, so I tried it for one month. After that first month, I never looked back.”
Okolie was originally scheduled to fight for the vacant WBO World Championship this Saturday, but his opponent fell out due to COVID-19.
“Training is going amazing,” he continued. “I’ve never eaten meat as a professional athlete, but I’ve done it both ways as an athlete and I prefer the plant-based approach. I would recommend this lifestyle to fighters who want to find increased energy levels and an easier time maintaining weight.”
Okolie, who was originally scheduled to fight for the vacant WBO world championship this Saturday, but his opponent fell out due to COVID-19, may land a sponsorship from ShopVejii.com, which connects consumers to the world’s largest selection of niche and mainstream vegan and plant-based products..
David haye was a vegan and a world champ
What in the world does being vegan have to do with boxing??? Am I missing something?
Better question.. who the hell cares??
Hell yeah, that’s awesome!!
Wasn’t Tim Bradley on a vegan diet during his championship run??
A bunch of athletes go vegetarian during training. Tim Bradley would go Vegan and get ripped everytime.
Vegan or not, he’s about to become the least watchable world champ since Sven Ottke
I stand corrected, but the Polish guy was doing the riverdance everytime he went down. Breidis or Ilunga is the litmus test for Okolie.
Well hoopdeedoo!
I hope this guy gets laid out cold.
Why?
— Near as I can tell, Harry Wills held a Colored title worth more than many of the modern single belt holders and he was vegan.
As was the great Eder Jofre, but keep in mind the criteria of the modern era ain’t the same as eras past and won’t be in the future
I think it’s very interesting, I’ve been thinking about becoming a vegan. I was worried I’d lose strength. I’m going to give it a try now , if a top boxer can do it , so can I.