Lawrence Okolie is targeting a fight with in-form heavyweight bruiser Agit Kabayel, so long as he gets past Richard Riakporhe on April 5.

'The Sauce', who has just been named the WBC's No. 1 ranked fighter in their March rankings, has had just one fight at heavyweight so far, a first-round destruction over Hussein Muhamed last December.

Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs), The Ring's No. 4 heavyweight, has been on a tear since December 2023, knocking out Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang in the 14 months that have followed.

The German is the WBC's interim champion, so a win over the 32-year-old would put Okolie (21-1, 16 KOs) in the right spot to challenge Oleksandr Usyk for full world honours at some point down the road.

In an interview with The Ring's Louis Hart, Okolie, who must first get past long-time rival Riakporhe next month in Manchester, is adamant that Kabayel's the kind of competition he needs to beat in order to position himself atop the heavyweight tree.

He said: "[Kabayel] is the one I'm looking for, I've watched him for a number of years now. He beat [Frank] Sanchez, [Arslanbek] Makhmudov and Zhang, you got to hand it to him. He's doing his thing, he's interim champ, he's undefeated and he's on fire. If I wanted to be world champion, that's the sort of guy I've got to beat to get there.

"I'm ranked No. 1, he's interim champion, Oleksandr Usyk is going to do his thing, whether that's against [Daniel] Dubois, he's got his own route. Me and Kabayel will need fights after I've beaten Richard so I'm sure that one's going to happen and the winner will be one step closer to a world heavyweight title."

Criticism has been aimed the way of Okolie since the WBC released their latest rankings, but the former WBO cruiserweight champion adds his previous accomplishments have played a part in his rise to the No. 1 spot.

"It feels good, obviously I was WBC world champion at Bridgerweight and a world champion at cruiserweight so that's two different weight classes," he said. "My plan and aim has always been to be a three-weight world champion.

"It's simple, I was world champion with the same governing body and I moved up so you get a good ranking. My first fight at heavyweight I boxed for a 'silver' title and won by knockout in the first round so that put me in the ratings.

"Then look at the guys above me at the time, Tyson Fury - rightfully so, [Zhilei] Zhang, [Agit] Kabayel and [Martin] Bakole.

"Bakole obviously lost to Parker, a great fighter but he's with the IBF, Parker is with the WBO, Zhang lost to Kabayel, who's interim champion, and Fury retired. None of them have won two world titles in two weight classes, so I've already done a lot in boxing and now I'm at heavyweight.

"You do get those perks when you've been a world champion, that's just how it goes. The fights like me vs. Kabayel will happen and after I win those fights the critics won't matter."