PROFESSIONAL promoters and managers have been told they will have to wait to sign Britain’s next super-heavyweight hope after World Boxing took a huge step towards securing the future of boxing at the Olympic Games.
Damar Thomas was in in Bulgaria competing in the Strandja Tournament where he beat seasoned Cuban international Yordan Hernandez to win bronze when it was revealed the International Olympic Committee had granted World Boxing provisional recognition as the International Federation for the boxing within the Olympic movement.
World Boxing are looking to organise qualifying events for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and beyond after impressing the IOC with the progress made since forming in April 2023.
Membership currently stands at 78 members that includes 62% of boxers and 58% of medallists from last summer’s Paris Olympics.
Boxing News understands the IOC want to see further proof that World Boxing can run events successfully before giving boxing the green light for Los Angeles.
World Boxing have the 2027 World Championships in Kazakhstan pencilled in as an Olympic qualifier and that would be followed by Continental qualifiers and world qualifiers as well. Thomas says the Olympics are his target.
The 20-year-old southpaw from Powerday Hooks admits “a good few” professional promoters have contacted him and says the positive news about the Olympics has convinced him his future is with the amateurs.
Thomas said: “I would have done the World Championships [in Liverpool in September] and maybe turned pro, but that has changed now.
“I will be 23 when the next Olympics come around and that’s the perfect age to go to the Olympics and turn pro.
“The Olympics is definitely the target.
“Every top British super-heavyweight of the last few years has gone to the Olympics, apart from Tyson Fury.
“Look at Anthony Joshua. He is where he is because he won the Olympic gold. The whole country got behind him.
“[2008 Beijing Olympic gold medallist] James Degale comes to the [Powerday Hooks] gym to work with me and Partris [Mughalzai] once or twice a week and he always tells us: ‘You have to go to the Olympics.’ I know it would be massive to win an Olympic gold.”
Thomas got a taste of the Olympic experience in Paris last summer when he went to spar Delicious Orie. His first-round exit ended Britain’s run of super-heavyweight medals at the Olympics.
David Price (bronze, 2008) Anthony Joshua (2012, gold) Joe Joyce (silver, 2016) Frazer Clarke (bronze, 2020) had all won medals and Audley Harrison won gold in Sydney in 2000.
Thomas looks set to be the next in line after his showing at the Strandja tournament.
He had to pull out of the semi-finals through sickness after beating Hernandez, surely his best win so far in his 27-3 amateur career.
“He had boxed for Cuba before moving to Bulgaria,” said Thomas. “He had been to a lot of big tournaments and I didn’t think it should have been a split.
“He won the last round 4-1 and I landed a lot of big shots in the last round.
“He plodded forward looking to push me back and throw haymakers, but my feet were too quick for him.
“I was at 92kgs for a long time and I don’t think they [super-heavyweights] expect me to be as fast on my feet as I am.
“When I get in there it’s a big shock to them. If you stand and trade you can get in trouble, but I jab and move, throw one-twos and move.”
Thomas is also very fast with his fists, long and fit.
He says his fitness helped him through his opening bout at the Strandja, against Abdurakhmon Rustamov (Uzbekistan).
Thomas said: “He came at me like a steam train for about 40 seconds and then gassed out.
“He had some success in the first 40 seconds and then I gave him a count near the end of the first and he became really cautious.
“I’m fit for a super-heavyweight. I train hard, I get the right sparring and I push myself hard. When I tick all those boxes I don’t think anyone can beat me.”
Rustamov was rescued in the third before Thomas was then ruled out of his semi-final against Aybek Oralbay, the Kazakh who reached the last eight in Paris.
“I had two days [between the quarter final and semi-final] to get myself better,” said Thomas, “and I couldn’t.
“I was still sick and I knew I had to be at 100 per cent. He is quite small, but technically, he’s very good and it would have been a great win. It was a tough decision to make [to pull out], but I was too ill.
“I’m going to Brazil [for the World Boxing Cup between March 31 and April 5] and I’m hoping to draw him there.”
Thomas heads there unbeaten in 2025 and says the turning point was what he called “a robbery” at the European Under-23 Championships in Bulgaria last October.
“I had a long lay-off,” said Thomas. “I had a serious hand operation. They had to take a bone from my hip and put it in my hand.
“I hurt it again at the [Enrique] Cal [Memorial Tournament] and got a bad robbery at the Europeans.
“I did physio, got myself right and since then I’ve been on a mission. Since then, I have tried to go to every tournament possible and fight the best out there.”
Thomas claimed a huge scalp at the Boxam tournament in Spain in February.
Following his early exit from the European Under-23 Championships, Vasyl Tkachuk struck gold and Thomas beat him unanimously – winning all three rounds on all the scorecards – in the Boxam final in February.
“I wasn’t myself going into the Europeans,” he said, “and now I’m building some momentum.
“I have had a really good start to the year.”
Thomas has achieved a lot since being steered to Steve Newland’s gym after getting into trouble at school.
“I had a bit of athleticism from playing American football with my brother,” he said. “Steve got me a bout after four months, I won and really enjoyed it.
“I won the Novices in my fourth or fifth bout and then got a bad decision in the semi-finals of the NABCs in Bristol.
“I won the Youths in my eighth bout, then won for England in Germany and went to the European Youths.
“Most people are still boxing on club shows after nine bouts. I went to the European Youths and beat Ukraine, Romania and Sweden to become European champion after 12 bouts.
“The World Youth Championship final that I lost to the Cuban was only my 18th bout.”
“I’ve still only had 28 or 29 bouts and have only lost three.
“Success has come quite quickly for me.”
