Mikael Lawal (born 3 July 1995) is a Nigerian-born British-French professional boxer who held the British cruiserweight title from November 2022 until October 2023.
Early life Lawal was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He moved to the UK and France at age one and lived there until he was 13 when went back to Nigeria with his mother, who died a short while later. Lawal, then aged 14, moved in with his father and stepmother but ran away from home due to difficulties in the household. He lived in Paris before moving London. He lived on the streets for a short period before visiting the British High Commission, after which he was placed in an orphanage and eventually returned to the UK at age 16.
Professional career After only nine amateur bouts, Lawal had his first professional fight at York Hall in London on 22 April 2017, stopping Jindrich Velecky in the first round. He signed a long-term promotional contract with Team Sauerland in July 2017.
With a 16 fight unbeaten record, Lawal was scheduled to face Deion Jumah for the vacant British cruiserweight title at Alexandra Palace in London on 27 November 2022. However, Jumah suffered a career-ending eye injury while sparring in training camp and withdrew less than two weeks before the contest. Lawal fought late replacement David Jamieson and claimed the title when his opponent retired after the eighth round due to a jaw injury.
Back at York Hall on 21 October 2023, he lost the title in his first defense, suffering a unanimous decision defeat against Isaac Chamberlain in a bout where the vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight championship was also up for grabs.
In his next fight, Lawal challenged English cruiserweight champion Viddal Riley at The O2 Arena in London on 31 March 2024, losing by unanimous decision.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes19Loss17–2Viddal RileyUD1031 Mar 202418Loss17–1Isaac ChamberlainUD1221 Oct 202317Win17–0David Jamieson8 (12), 27 Nov 202216Win16–0Javier AndinoKO2 (8), 30 July 202215Win15–0Leonardo Damian BruzzeseTKO5 (8), 20 Nov 202114Win14–0Benoit HuberTKO3 (6), 2 Oct 202113Win13–0Ossie JervierUD610 Nov 202012Win12–0Damian ChambersTKO1 (3), 19 Jul 201911Win11–0David JamiesonUD319 Jul 201910Win10–0Antony Woolery319 July 20199Win9–0Kent KauppinenPTS619 July 20198Win8–0Tamas Kozma, 328 Sep 20187Win7–0Istvan KunTKO3 (6), 14 Jul 20186Win6–0Adam WilliamsTKO5 (6), 17 Feb 20185Win5–0Istvan Orsos627 Jan 20184Win4–0Tomislav RudanTKO2 (4), 14 Oct 20173Win3–0Jakub Wojcik416 Sep 20172Win2–0Florians StrupitsTKO1 (4), 9 Jul 20171Win1–0Jindrich Velecky1 (4), 22 Apr 2017
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