There is a lot of excitement about the prospects of Irish heavyweight Adam Olaniyan, and the former amateur star is too modest to admit why.
“I don’t know,” he smiled shyly, asked why he felt Queensberry Promotions and manager Brian Peters have started working with him ahead of his debut on Saturday.
“I’m just the average Joe who happens to be good at boxing, so I don't know, but I am really grateful that they have shown interest. Look, we have a good road plan. We have a good blueprint going forward, and I’m really looking forward to it.
“Plus, Queensberry, home of the heavyweights, it’s kind of a no-brainer. Obviously, Brian, he’s managed countless fighters. He’s a boxing man. I just felt, for me, that was the one. That was the team, and that was the environment I needed to put myself in.”
Despite the enthusiasm in his brain trust, Olaniyan has no intention of being rushed. Activity is something he wants before anything else.
“I definitely think right now, we’re probably going to be the busiest prospect in world boxing this year,” he said. “We’re going to be out in March, April and May. We’re going to just keep on getting as many fights and as many different styles and as many different shapes and sizes in front of me, and just learn.
“I’m still serving my apprenticeship, and I don’t feel like there’s a rush. I'm only 19. There’s so many years for me to develop and improve until I then jump into the deep end, so definitely rushing is off the cards for me, but definitely serving my apprenticeship here.”
The Irishman arrives on the pro scene an experienced amateur with plenty of international pedigree, but he is aware of the differences between the two codes.
“You look at a lot of successful pros in the past, a lot of them have had successful, if not really successful amateur careers,” he said. “[But] I understand it’s a completely different game. Amateur boxing, they may as well be two different sports, but I can appreciate how different people have fought and sparred from different countries. I think it will pay dividends, definitely, but I’m not looking into it too much because I understand that professional boxing is different, and I also need to rack up some professional experience as well.”
Olaniyan has watched a lot of Oleksandr Usyk, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko. He enjoys watching Shakur Stevenson, too, and he also admires another Peters client, the brilliant Irishwoman Katie Taylor.
“I probably would have had a different answer before I’d actually met Katie,” he admitted. “From actually spending time with Katie and getting to know her a little bit and really just spending actual real time with her, I can actually say genuinely, hand on heart, she’s probably the most genuine person I’ve ever met in my life. If I can be half the athlete she is, I’ll be a very, very happy person.”
Olaniyan had a natural all-Irish rivalry with Martin McDonagh, and Olaniyan admits he would be keen to renew that if and when McDonagh follows him into the pros. He is also, owing to his age, going to draw constant comparison to Moses Itauma and Leo Atang, who are in and around his age group while being at very different stages of their pro careers.
“Age-wise, certainly,” Olaniyan said. “Definitely in that age group, that age crop, but the only thing they have on me right now is they’ve already started their professional careers, and obviously Moses is right on the cusp of a world championship fight, which is quite exciting to see that someone near enough my age is fighting for world titles.
“It is exciting, and I was saying earlier it’s almost as if the [19]90s heavyweights, the golden era of the heavyweight division [of the likes of Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson and Lewis] is kind of coming back. There’s me, there's Leo, there’s Moses, there’s Daniel [Dubois], there’s loads of other heavyweights coming through. It appears that Queensberry has a lot of them.”
As much as Olaniyan might be looking forward to those days, he talks about “building blocks” and “baby steps.” There is no rush. It’s learning first, in the ring and in the gym with Liverpool trainer Paul Stevenson. Running his own race and not looking to see what anyone else is doing.
“I need to be on my A-game, that’s why I'm training so hard,” he added.
With that in mind, he said he has a different attitude toward the fight than any of his amateur bouts.
The stakes are high.
Meanwhile, in the amateurs, his talented older brother Josh is doubling down and progressing through the Elite system in Ireland.
They are, for now, on separate paths.
“I think he just got a really good opportunity to fight in the Elites and to go and progress, whereas this is what I wanted to do,” he said.
“I feel like I just wanted to turn pro and learn my craft and start chasing my ultimate goal, which was undisputed. I think he wants to do that and I want to do this, but I think it’s working out good for the both of us.”
