Lawrence Okolie trains in the type of gym you’ve only seen characterised in Rocky or Raging Bull.

Torn gloves hang on the walls, rusting weights lie on the floor and the rhythmic thumps of jabs, hooks and uppercuts hurting a heavy bag drowns out any sound of music. The walls of this gym are stained with the blood, sweat and tears of warriors in waiting.

Everything in this gym is a throwback, including the fights screened on a raised TV besides the ring while Okolie trains. The 24-year-old from Hackney is unlikely to remember Evander Holyfield’s notorious clashes with Mike Tyson from 1996 but here – in 2017 – he pauses training to study Holyfield’s fight with Alex Stewart from 1993. Okolie is inspired by heroes of the past but it was witnessing the coronation of a more recent champion that sparked him to chase his dream of becoming a king inside the ring.

Lawrence was working in McDonald’s during London 2012 and it was on a lunch break that he saw Anthony Joshua claim Olympic gold. 24 hours later he told his boss he was leaving to concentrate on his boxing career. Five years on, Okolie became the first fighter to sign to Anthony Joshua’s roster of fighters, AJ Boxing. It feels a little bit like destiny.

After four professional fights, four knockouts and working alongside the hottest property in world boxing, Lawrence Okolie is ready to stake his claim as the next big thing. The future is now.

VERSUS: The first thing I noticed when I came here today was the classic fight playing in the background. Are they on rotation 24/7?

Lawrence Okolie: Every time I train I’ve got old fights on. I like to watch the older fighters because I feel their mindset was different to what we see with a lot of boxers nowadays. Of course, I like to box and be clever but I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for a time where my tactics aren’t working and I’ve got to dig deep and got to go to war – because that’s what these legends did. I love Evander Holyfield so I like to watch him when I’m tired and in need of something more. I see him grafting in fights and I want that same kind of heart.

So what is it about the mindset of modern fighters that you think is different?

I think that back in those times it was just a case of finding out who’s the best? There weren’t as many titles so knowing the answer to that question was a lot easier – now there’s three or four world champions. There’s a lot more on the line when you’re fighting for the one true title and that showed in the ring.

"I was a physical kid, being punched in the face never fazed me."

Taking it back, what are you first memories of boxing?

Walking in the gym for the first time, I remember my first session like it was yesterday. I started when I was 17 and the first thing they did was check my weight because I originally started boxing to lose weight, I was a big kid. The first session was so hard and at times I wanted to quit. I was doing the most push ups I’d ever done and skipping...man, I couldn’t even skip. I’d never done it before. I remember being determined to get through that first session and wanting to come back again because I didn’t want to fail.

What was it about boxing that led you to it? Were you a fan as a kid?

Actually, nah. That might sound strange but I wasn’t really a fan of any sports when I was a kid. One of my friends was a boxer though and he told me I should come down. The gym is a tough environment but I was a physical kid and I’d got into silly fights in school and stuff, being punched in the face never fazed me.

At what point did you transition from looking at boxing as a fitness thing to a career option?

As soon as they asked me to fight! I was sparring and doing all the types of training that the fighters would be doing anyway, so they asked me if I wanted to get a medical, because you need one before you can fight. As soon as they said that, the seed was planted that I could make boxing my life and my first fight was in 2010. I went six or seven undefeated and it became difficult to match me with other amateurs because I was better than other kids with similar levels of experience. I was in no-mans land because I was too good for people of my age but not good enough for those who were boxing for titles. I kept grafting until 2013 and that was when it started to pick up and I began thinking about the Olympics.

There’s a great story about where you were when you watched AJ win his gold medal in 2012.

I was working in McDonald’s and I saw him win that medal on my break. It was inspiring. Seeing AJ win that Olympic medal was the closest I’ve come to feeling like a lightbulb has gone off in my head. It felt very real. I’ve seen his steps – I’ve watched him box in the ABAs, I’ve watched him box in the world championships and then going onto the Olympics. I saw his progress and viewed them as very attainable steps. I started late and I know he did, too.

And now you’re part of his team...

It’s crazy when I think about it like that. I find it hard to comprehend. If I wasn’t boxing at this level or working with AJ Boxing, I know I’d still be a fan of his – he’s that sort of guy that you’re drawn to and want to see win.

"I was gutted. It was the worst I've ever felt in boxing, way worse than losing a fight."

You’ve now been pro for about six months, with four straight KO victories. How have you viewed the start of your pro career?

It’s been good, it’s been a smooth transition. I’ve been working with my current coach – Brian – since before I turned pro so we’ve got a good understanding; we carried on what we’ve always been doing. Stuff like being sponsored by JD Sports is cool. The other day my mum sent me a photo of my little sister standing next to a poster of me in JD…that sort of stuff touches me! It’s a nice pick me up. This isn’t an easy line of work and sometimes I’ll be tired from training or feeling a bit of pain but those little moments are incentives to keep on winning.

You almost fought at Wembley. You were meant to be on the Joshua-Klitschko card but got cut due to time restrictions. How much of a blow was that? It would have been the biggest night of your career by some distance…

I was gutted. Beyond gutted. It was the lowest I’ve ever felt in boxing, way worse than losing a fight. I felt like I’d been KO’d or something.

Did that experience taint the enjoyment you could take from seeing Joshua defeat Klitschko?

Well I was meant to be fighting just before those two, I would have been the final fight on the undercard. That fight was a rollercoaster ride and – to be fair – seeing AJ win did take some of my pain away...and seeing that fight was such an inspiration. More than just headlining Wembley, it was seeing how AJ fought.. I’ve seen him train and what he managed to pull out of himself shows that if you train hard, you can pull these iconic moments out of the bag. It made me want to go back to the gym and train even harder.

Boxing is also about showmanship and one thing AJ always does is get the world talking when he does his ringwalk. How do you go about choosing your ringwalk music?

I’ve actually got a mate of mine to do me a track, ‘Okolie’s Out the Cage’. It’s personal to me and he’s sick so I’m happy with that. Not many fighters have their own songs.

How important is music to you whilst you train?

It’s a massive part of training. It can change the mood. You can be feeling tired and then you drop the right track on and it gives you a big boost. Even in the weights room, if you get the right track going it can push you.

And what sort of stuff is on your playlist?

It’s a lot of grime and UK hip-hop. People like Ms Banks, J Hus, Kojo Fundz, Stormzy, Skepta and then also classic 90s rap like Biggie Smalls and 2Pac. I don’t listen to many new American artists, to be honest. I’m rating the J Hus album at the moment, that’s always on.

We’re just at the start of your career but where are you looking to go for the rest of 2017 and beyond?

I just want to remain undefeated. I’d like to push on and be able to fight 8 or 10 rounds so I can then fight for some titles in 2018. I want straight knockouts.

Lawrence Okolie is fighting on Matchroom's Summertime Brawl card at the O2 Arena on Friday 1st July. Tickets are available here.