On February 27, 2022, a 32-year-old Michał Cieślak (21-1, 15 KOs) got a shot at the cruiserweight WBO title held by 29-year-old British boxer Lawrence Okolie (17-0, 14 KOs).
Cieślak came in to the fight on a 2-fight win streak with a 68% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 9 months and 13 days. Okolie was on a 17-fight win streak with a 82% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 5 months and 2 days.
Lawrence Okolie defeated Michał Cieślak via unanimous decision and successfully defended his WBO cruiserweight title. Okolie improves his record to 18-0, while Cieślak adds a loss to his record at 21-2.
On January 31, 2020, 30-year-old Michał Cieślak (19-0, 13 KOs) and 32-year-old Ilunga Makabu (26-2, 24 KOs) fought for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title.
Cieślak came in to the fight on a 19-fight win streak with a 68% KO rate, and was fighting after a gap of 8 months. Makabu was on a 7-fight win streak with a 85% KO rate, and fighting after a layoff of 5 months and 7 days.
Ilunga Makabu defeated Michał Cieślak via unanimous decision . Makabu improves his record to 27-2, while Cieślak adds a loss to his record at 19-1.