David Adeleye and Lawrence Okolie will fight on the same card in separate heavyweight bouts on December 19 in Lagos, Nigeria.

Nigeria card, low risk

It is not clear who the recently defeated Adeleye (14-2, 13 KO) and Okolie (22-1, 16 KO) will fight. Fans on social media are disappointed that they are sharing the card but not fighting each other. This is a red flag that their fights will be makeshift. These two already need to augment their advantage against a higher-level opponent.

Olly Campbell’s point of view: enough protection

Okolie, 32, has reached the age where he needs to start fighting higher-level heavyweights. The former WBO cruiserweight champion hasn’t faced anyone resembling a contender since moving up to heavyweight in 2024.

Promoted by Queensberry, Adeleye and Okolie share Nigerian roots, so fighting there rather than in the UK makes sense. However, they must fight top-tier contenders to be taken seriously. The way they are matched is similar to the way Moses Itauma was brought along. He is also from Queensberry.

Adeleye will fight on December 19 with an average record of 2-2 in his last four fights since 2023. Filip Hrgovic defeated him by unanimous decision of 10 rounds on August 16, 2025 in Riyad.

In another defeat, Adeleye was stopped in the seventh round by Fabio Wardley on October 28, 2023. This fight was never even remotely close.

Adeleye’s climax against Hrgogik came in the eighth round when Filip dropped him. He got up and came back forceful, knocking down Hrgovic with a flurry of shots. However, Adeleye had nothing left in the tank after this round and did nothing for the remainder of the fight. The scores were 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91.

Verdict: Step in or step away

Okolie has not challenged himself since his 12-round majority decision loss to Chris Billiam Smith on May 27, 2023. Since then, Lawrence has defeated the following fighters in three fights:

• Kevin Lerena
• Hussein Muhammad
• Łukasz Różański: 39 years ancient

His size of 186cm and World Championship qualification means he doesn’t have to be looked after by his promoters in the way they do. He is drafted like a player who has just turned professional and is brought in with great care as part of a seven-year plan. It’s a waste of time because he’s already 30 years ancient and deeply flawed coordination this can never be fixed.

Adeleye and Okolie should be fighting top heavyweight predators at this point in their careers. If these are matches that allow them to win long enough to make a killing with a gigantic payday, it’s unlikely that will happen. Both have already shown that they are unable to defeat decent opponents. We saw this with Adeleye’s two losses and Okolie’s loss to Billiam-Smith.