Yves Ngabu vs Lawrence Okolie Odds & Picks

• Ngabu vs Okolie goes Saturday, October 26th, at 2:00 PM ET
• Can Ngabu maintain his grasp on the gold?
• Okolie is a heavy favorite to cement his name in the European championship history books

Yves Ngabu vs Lawrence Okolie features a champion looking to make his third defense against a boxer who’s a titlist in his own right. The EBU European cruiserweight championship is on the line. Ngabu is the reigning champion and looks to ward off the challenge of Okolie over twelve rounds or less. The O2 Arena in London, England plays host to this title tilt on Saturday (Oct. 26, 2:00 PM ET).

The bout is part of a card that features compelling fights like Prograis vs Taylor. The event will be broadcast on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN for North American viewers. Check out the odds for this prizefight and my analysis of the bout below.

Ngabu vs Okolie Odds

*Odds taken Oct. 23.

Okolie is the reigning British and Commonwealth champion and is looking to add the distinction of being European champion to his accomplishments. Both men have spotless records heading into this one (see Tale of the Tape, below). The victor will have a lot of significant UK boxing hardware and the loser will need to reassess after suffering his first blemish on his pro record.

The 30-year-old Ngabu has several years of additional pro experience and has a lot of skills, but I see Okolie (26) picking his shots well en route to a W.

Okolie Claims European gold

Some have called Ngabu the Belgian Mike Tyson. He has a compact and explosive style similar to the childhood hero that inspired Ngabu to learn the sweet science. Ngabu has great power and a KO rate of 70% so, even though Okolie has a higher 77% KO rate, it’s in his best interest to play a rangier game with the more compact Ngabu. Ngabu wants to close the distance and throw bombs in close quarters. It will be interesting to see who can implement their gameplan the best.

Okolie is out of the cage 😤

We visited @lawrence_tko at his training camp ahead of his European Title fight on the 26th October, we’ll be following him until the bell rings, stay tuned…. 🥊💥 pic.twitter.com/r8FD8bP4cx

— boohooMAN (@boohooMAN) October 21, 2019

While this is a cruiserweight bout, there are implications across multiple divisions. Based on past call-outs of heavyweights, Okolie seems to have designs to move up in weight.

Okolie hasn’t hinted at moving up, but as his physical frame fills out even more, a decent run at heavyweight is possible. All of this to say that Okolie seems like a goal-oriented guy looking to test himself against the very best. He has been working with well-regarded trainer Shane McGuigan ahead of this bout. McGuigan will also be cornering main eventer Josh Taylor so Okolie is in good hands.

Ngabu vs Okolie Tale of the Tape

Okolie also has the advantage of having fought better competition overall. Though Ngabu is the reigning champion and has a level of seasoning at this stage, I don’t think this will be an overwhelming jump up for the challenger.

Okolie also has the home-field advantage, so to speak. The partisan crowd will likely be roaring when one of their UK compatriots comes out to the ring. All factors considered, Okolie gets the job done and hands Ngabu his first professional defeat. Despite Okolie claiming he’ll stop Ngabu, I’m leaning more towards Okolie winning via unanimous decision.

Pick: Okolie (-350)