Lawrence Okolie has been very complimentary about Jake Paul after spending a gym session with the popular YouTuber recently.
The WBO cruiserweight champion was in attendance at Floyd Mayweather’s exhibition with Deji in Dubai last weekend and that provided him with the opportunity to spend time with Paul.
Scouting Tommy Fury as a potential next opponent, Paul made his presence known with multiple verbal altercations with his great rival, and his father, John Fury.
That fight could potentially happen in 2023, and with Paul aiming to take significant steps next year, his approach to boxing has won the approval of Okolie.
"We met in person sort of by chance at a restaurant and it went from there," said Okolie when speaking to Mirror Fighting.
"We exchanged some words, and we ended up training. For me, I've always said that I think there's a place for YouTube boxing as it were, but when I actually spoke to him and heard his ambitions and his motives behind boxing, I sort of started rooting for him.
"He's already made millions in boxing and outside of boxing, so for him to risk his life, which is what he does every time he gets in the ring, for his goals and aspirations I have to respect it. We had a good sort of mix and worked through some motions, and he put in the work."