Okoli praised the British world champion for his recent victories

LAWRENCE OKOLEY has been impressed with one of his new promotional stablemates in recent months.

The former WBO cruiserweight and WBC bridgeweight champion makes his heavyweight debut tomorrow night in Birmingham against Hussein Muhammad, 18-1 (14 KOs). This year saw a number of firsts for Okoli, 20-1 (15 KOs). Signing with Queensberry, joining Joe Gallagher's gym and moving up to heavyweight where he hopes to win a third world title.

Among the number of heavyweight fights, particularly in Riyadh, current IBF champion Daniel Dubois caught Okolie's attention. The 31-year-old spoke with Boxing news yesterday for the man who is now one of his new rivals.

“If you look at his form, it's been 'Big Baby' Miller, Hrgovic (and) Anthony Joshua. These are three top heavyweights that he's been in there with, beaten and knocked off and stopped two of them. He's in great shape.”

Going forward, Okolie, who is already ranked fifth in the WBC heavyweight rankings, could face Dubois if one or both of them have a world title up for grabs. The IBF title holder is next on February 22 in Riyadh, defending his belt against Joseph Parker.

“It's a great fight,” Okoli said.

“This is a risky fight for Dan.” We saw Parker there with Zhang, we saw him there with Wilder who are two massive punchers. And he was able to deny them and get points decisions for both men. That is difficult.

“If Dan gets on top of him and overpowers him with powerful fists, he can stand. But if he's not careful, the rounds could disappear and Parker could get a decision. However, Parker has gained a lot of size in the last few months, so I don't know if that will slow him down and then he will be too much in the pocket. We have to wait and see.”