Isaac Okoh, former sparring partner of Anthony Joshua, dreams of successful pro career after World Boxing Cup medal
Gaining from his experience of working as a sparring partner of two-time World heavyweight champion professional boxer Anthony Joshua, English boxer Isaac Okoh is keen to take the Olympic route to achieve his ambition of becoming a successful pro.
Delighted with a strong finish to the year, Okoh, who won the 90kg title in the World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida on Thursday, acknowledges that he became better after his training sessions with Joshua ahead of the Briton’s famous fight in Saudi Arabia three years ago.
“I really enjoyed sparring with Joshua in 2022 for the Oleksandr Usyk fight. It was a great learning experience for me sparring with an ex-heavyweight champion in the world. Saudi Arabia was a great experience and helped me grow as a fighter and helped me see the other side of boxing, which is the professional ranks, and I learned a lot from that experience,” Okoh told Sportstar.
ALSO READ | World Boxing Cup Finals, Day 4: Nikhat, Jaismine guarantee medals after winning semifinal bouts
“I believe over the past few years I’ve been gaining a lot of experience internationally, which is just helping me towards the Olympic qualifiers, which I’m going to go for, as that is my ultimate dream as an amateur boxer. Everything else I’ve done previously to the Olympic qualifiers is just experience, and making me a better fighter for when the time comes to get ready for the qualifiers. I feel like I’ve had a successful year with my boxing, starting off the year well with a gold medal in the box and a silver medal in Brazil,” he added.
Okoh is eyeing World pro titles in the future. “Heavyweight amateur boxing is of a very high level at the moment, and there are some very good fighters that await, who, in no doubt, will be at the Olympic Games and will have the same ambitions as me in turning pro after the Olympic Games. We’re all capable of doing very well as pros as well,” said Okoh.
“I do wish to turn pro in the future, but first I want to get to an Olympic Games, which I think will help me in the pro ranks and will stand me in good stead going into the pro ranks. My ambition as a pro is to win world titles and earn loads of money,” he concluded.
Published on Nov 20, 2025