‘I Had to Pull Over’ – Adam Olaniyan Avoids Boxing’s Biggest Sin After Croke Park Surprise
Adam Olaniyan briefly committed a cardinal boxing sin in the build-up to this weekend’s 3Arena fight.
During training camp for his third pro fight, the 20-year-old prospect those in the boxing know are extremely excited about took his eyes off the immediate challenge to look towards a fight further down the line.
Considering the bout beyond the horizon is part of the Katie Taylor Croke Park undercard and will most likely make him the first heavyweight to fight at the famous stadium since Mohammad Ali, it’s a misdeamounour that won’t be held against him.
Not to mention it was a temporary fault and he wasn’t long about ensuring his attention was fixed solely on next week’s outing.
“[Manager] Brian Peters told me to be ready for a press conference on June 30th. I thought it was the presser for the Queensberry show. Then on he rings me. He says, ‘Are we set for the Croke Park presser?’
“I was like I’m not on it. He’s said, ‘Yeah, of course. I told you on Tuesday.’ I said you didn’t tell me anything. You just said very vaguely where and when. Not any details.
“I was shocked and made up. I had to pull over. I was driving. I had to pull over and I had a bit of a moment. You know, fighting in front of 80,000 people. Croke Park… it hasn’t happened since Mohammad Ali. It’s a big occasion.
“It’s such a big thing so to have a moment was ok, but as soon as that it just went out of my head. Next Saturday is the priority. You just have to be mentally switched on.”
After his ‘moment’, the Jobstown BC graduate and former underage sensation has made sure to focus on the challenge at hand not to the venues he booked to fight in.
The 2-0 Queensberry starlet knows it’s dangerous to look past opponents in boxing, particularly in the land of the giants.
“It doesn’t matter that this fight is in the 3Arena. The 3Arena is huge and is Croke Park it matters who we fight,” he adds.
“I have to treat both [pending foes] with the due respect they deserve because they are another opponent who’s looking to take my head off. I have to show them respect and not look past either in anyway. Fighting is what we do tt’s gladiator style. You’re in the amphitheatre, there’s another man who wants to smash your head in regardless of where the arena is. It’s something so nice and so pure about it.
“I don’t think about where it is. I don’t think if it’s inside, outside, if it’s in a phone box, if it’s in the gym… it doesn’t matter where it is. It could be in any arena, any stadium, anywhere in the world. I’m going to turn up and I’m going to fight.”
