When boxers think about quitting the sport for good, no matter what level they’re at, it’s usually the correct decision.
But for 20-year-old Irish heavyweight prospect Adam Olaniyan, who represents Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, the ‘crippling’ process of deciding to stick at it has paid dividends.
Now, Olaniyan features in two major boxing events across the next few months — both at home in Ireland.
If he gets through his outing at Dublin’s 3Arena on August 1, Olaniyan will get straight back into training camp to fight at Croke Park on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s retirement fight.
In fact, if, and most likely when, the Irishman steps through the ropes at the 82,000-seater on September 5, he will become the first heavyweight since Muhammad Ali to box at Croke Park.
It’s a remarkable opportunity for the young man to look forward to —and one he says is ‘what dreams are made of’ — but also something that may never have come about due to one decision.
Olaniyan asked himself, ‘Should I quit?’
“I think even the word pressure is an understatement,” Olaniyan, who moved to Liverpool in January after deciding to turn professional, told talkSPORT.com, describing his tough decision to leave the amateur scene.
After all, it’s a common dilemma in the sport — and one that eventually resulted in heavyweight boxing’s next big thing Delicious Orie hanging up the gloves prematurely.
“It was crippling at one point. I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Olaniyan continued.
“There was a time where I was like, ‘Is this even worth it? Why am I feeling this amount of pressure? Should I just pack in the boxing?’
“And I told myself no, I can’t do that because this is what I want to do. I knew the right decision was to turn professional.”
Olaniyan explained he felt so much weight on his shoulders due to the magnitude of the decision he described as ‘life-changing.’
Adam Olaniyan’s next fights
Two already booked
- Yet-to-be-named opponent at 3Arena, Dublin on August 1, 2026
- Yet-to-be-named opponent at Croke Park, Dublin on September 5, 2026
4
It was the first time in his life he had to make a big decision for himself, having had ‘everything kind of done for me’ in the past.
“I was just really confused,” he added, recalling the period after winning gold at the World Youths in November 2024 before deciding to turn pro.
“I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I was just living life on autopilot for a year.
“I didn’t really think or care about boxing. I just wanted to get my decision over the line, whether it was to stay amateur.
“But in my heart of hearts, I knew the right decision was to turn professional.
“I just didn’t want to admit it to myself, or I was probably just afraid to admit it to myself.”
Olaniyan out to make Ali proud
After some ‘soul searching,’ Olaniyan found his answer.
“I found out I wasn’t staying amateur because I wanted to do it for myself. It was more for other people,” he explained,
“So I made the first adult decision of my life. I said I was turning professional, whether it was going to offend people, whether it was going to do whatever.
“Everything moved pretty fast after that. We went to Queensberry. Got straight over to Liverpool and then got to work.”
Olaniyan made his first professional appearance on March 14 in Dublin, stopping journeyman — the typical opponent of a young debutant — Jan Bezouska in round one.
Just last month, the 20-year-old made it 2-0 on the undercard of Ryan Garner’s homecoming victory over Michael Magnesi at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton.
4
Alongside the likes of British representatives Moses Itauma and Leo Atang — aged 21 and 19, respectively — Olaniyan is widely viewed as the man to join the heavyweights at the top in the future.
He credits older brother Josh Olaniyan, who has had 50 amateur bouts at the age of just 22, for keeping him in the sport.
“He has motivated me a lot,” Olaniyan added.
“He had his first fight before me because I was on the fence whether I wanted to really do it or not.
“Getting punched in the face doesn’t really seem appealing to a seven-year-old. When I saw his first fight, I said I wanted to stick with this.
“Just even being on the sidelines, I had an adrenaline rush. I think from that day, I discovered I was a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”
4
He’s also somewhat following in the footsteps of his dad, who was a boxer himself growing up in Nigeria but packed it in due to a lack of opportunities before moving to Ireland.
Olaniyan said he found out about his dad’s pugilist past shortly after his first boxing class, a move brought about by his mother, who brought both her sons to a local gym after too much fighting in the house.
He’s not only out to make his family proud at Croke Park in September.
“I don’t have too many words to describe how I’m feeling about fighting at Croke Park, to be honest,” Olaniyan concluded.
“Hopefully, the way I go about it, the way I do it, would be something Ali is looking down on, and something he can be proud of.”
Watch Boxing on DAZN
*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue
Sign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.
Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.
Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.
