By Bryce Wilson

Times, they are a changing for Izu Ugonoh. The hard-working Polish heavyweight contender has found himself very much the embodiment of a road fighter, facing off against a string of opponents in far-off places and foreign lands searching for that breakthrough moment to kick-start his career.

After a successful stint in kickboxing, Ugonoh embarked on his professional boxing journey in Poland before leaving his promoter to strike out on his own in Las Vegas.  After several false starts he finally hooked up with veteran trainer Kevin Barry, himself in the midst of a successful run with world rated Kiwi heavyweight Joseph Parker. The association with Barry led to Ugonoh fighting on the undercard of many of Parker’s fights down in New Zealand, about as far away from Poland as you can get.

Taking it all in his stride Ugonoh under the tutelage of trainer Kevin Barry made every post a winner, knocking out several opponents in devastating fashion; one particular KO of Will Quarrie going viral, being viewed over three million times on YouTube and other forms of Social Media. Ugonoh with his brutal right hand and engaging personality soon won over the New Zealand public becoming a firm fan favourite in his own right.

From there Ugonoh was approached by Polish TV network Pulsat to compete in their version of Dancing with the Stars with the promise of a high profile fight to follow. The dancing part worked out fine for Izu as he reached the semi-finals of the competition. However negotiations for a big fight fell through, leaving Ugonoh with a sense of exasperation and a return to New Zealand to fight on more Joseph Parker undercards.

Still as every cloud has the proverbial silver lining, far away back in America powerful eyes were keeping track of Ugonoh’s progress, impressed with what they saw and eager to elevate his career to the elite level.

Enter the ever-mysterious Al Haymon as Izu explains during our conversation:

"When it came time for myself and my manager Rich Moriarty to meet him we were given instructions to arrive at a hotel in LA at a specific time. Al was waiting for us along with his attorney Mike Ring and he was just a very gracious and courteous guy."

As I understand it, not every fighter that signs with Al Haymon actually gets to meet him?

"No, that’s what I understand as well. But it was certainly great to meet him, and my manager Rich did a fantastic job in negotiations as well. But to be honest it was very simple. The contract itself was straightforward and most importantly fair. Al didn’t sit down with us trying to play games, he had done his homework and he knew what I can bring to the table. He made us feel very welcome and only had positive things to say."

And having had some stop-start negotiations with other advisors and promoters in the past that type of simplicity must have appealed?

"Absolutely, that’s all you can ask for from an advisor. As a fighter, it feels good to know you have someone that believes in you and wants to help create a pathway to the top and that’s what Al’s offer represented. He is a very straightforward guy and I appreciate that. For instance, we met him and he said that he would have the contract sent to Rich and myself on the Monday at a certain time and sure enough there it was. And it contained everything that we discussed at our initial meeting with no nasty surprises. It was most generous and now it’s up to me to prove Al’s faith in me by going out and delivering in the ring. It’s up to me to show I’m good enough."

And more than that, I put it to Izu that it was time to emerge from stablemate Joseph Parker’s shadow. It’s something he agrees with.

"Listen, here’s the thing, Joseph is like a brother to me. We have gone through so much together in and out of the ring and we have helped develop each other’s skills. There is a great chemistry as a team working with our trainer Kevin (Barry.) I’ll definitely be watching his fight with Andy Ruiz and hope so much that he wins. However, you’re also right, I have to look after myself as well. I know how hard I’ve worked, I’m 30 years old, I’m 17 and 0 and it’s my time. By signing this contract and working with someone like Al Haymon I now have a pathway forward and can’t wait to make some big fights as well as challenging myself and showing the fans what I’ve got."

Having sat down with Haymon do you also have a sense of what the plan is going forward?

"Absolutely. For now, it is about enjoying my break, doing some travelling and being in England with my mom and family for Christmas. Then around January I will to travel back to Vegas and link up with Kevin (Barry) and prepare for a big fight, hopefully in March in America."

I’m assuming it will be a televised fight? And do you have any opponents in mind for next year?

"I think that is the plan, to now build my profile up internationally. Of course, we have some fights and fighters in mind but for now we’ll keep that close to our chest, we have to leave some surprises for the fans! So right now, I’ll do some relaxing, enjoy my break and put my trust in my team to put together some really exciting fights for me next year." 

With the heavyweight division fractured due to the shock loss of Tyson Fury to its ranks, 2017 looms as a year for someone like Izu Ugonoh to become a breakout star. With a booming right hand and debilitating body shots, Ugonoh often described by his trainer Kevin Barry as ‘the sleeper of the division’ looks set to emerge from being one of the heavyweight divisions best kept secrets to a major player in his own right. As Floyd Mayweather often likes to say, ‘hard work and dedication’ really does pay off. Sometimes a little patience doesn’t hurt either…………