Lawrence Okolie received a £500,000 demand from Eddie Hearn

WBO Cruiserweight Champion Lawrence Okolie has provided some clarification about the ongoing legal battle with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn.

Okolie suggests that their conflict started following his altercation with Michal Cieslak in February. He alleges that Eddie Hearn's refusal to match other offers made led to the termination of their promotional agreement. Okolie's argument has been rejected by Eddie Hearn, who claims that the undefeated boxer owes Matchroom at least one more bout. As a result, both parties' legal teams are now involved in the situation and are working to find a solution.

In his recent interview, Okolie explained:

“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 also mentioned:

“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.”

EDDIE HEARN HITS BACK AT FURY AND RESPONDS TO OKOLIE

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Lawrence Okolie away from the ring for almost a year

Lawrence Okolie fought in February of this year due to a conflict, but it appears that a solution will be reached shortly. The WBO Cruiserweight World Champion will receive purse offers for his next bout against mandatory challenger David Light next week.

After Lawrence Okolie's fight against Michal Cieslak earlier this year, it appeared that his contract with Matchroom Boxing had expired, which is when the conflict started. Okolie said in a recent interview with IFL TV that Matchroom Boxing initially accepted the end of his contract and started to renegotiate.

But when Lawrence Okolie said he had received a better offer elsewhere, Matchroom argued that his contract had not ended and that he still owed them a fight. This was because they didn't think his fight with Nikodem Jezewski in 2020 counted as part of the deal.

Although the opponent and date of Okolie's next fight have not yet been determined, supporters are eager to find out what will happen with his upcoming boxing matches as well as the resolution of his legal conflict with Eddie Hearn.