DAVID Adeleye chooses to adopt an immersive approach to his craft – so much so that, even when taking a moment to rest his enormous knuckles, he can never quite seem to find the off-switch.
In fact, while sitting on a chair that just about supports his muscular frame, it becomes glaringly obvious that the 28-year-old’s mind, as if searching for a more stimulating environment, remains far removed from an office room filled with ring binders and A4 sheets of paper.
The Londoner, in that sense, possesses a special type of mindset; one that is almost expertly designed for combat.
In an alternative reality, he would have more than likely plied his trade on the battlefield, often charging into a cluster of goons while swinging an axe high above his head.
But it is his mentality, more than anything else, which makes him particularly effective in a gladiatorial arena, where certain emotions and character traits can suddenly become far more pronounced.
“When I say that I’m a naturally aggressive person, it’s not like I’m about to start punching the wall,” Adeleye assures Boxing News. “It’s just that I don’t really need to psyche myself up to have a tear-up.
“If we’re sparring, I’m not one of these fighters that needs to be psyched up. A fight’s a fight and, for me, it’s pretty simple – either you’re on it, or you’re not. And I’m on it.
“It’s just about zoning in and doing what matters. Some of us are born with a bit more strength than others; some of us are just more on it than others.
“Even if it’s just me, myself and a room full of mirrors, I don’t need to be psyched up.”
Indeed, Adeleye has never exposed himself as someone who needs a kick up the backside, but while boxing is, for the most part, an individual sport – demanding a single-minded approach – a fighter’s mentality can nonetheless be drastically influenced by those around them.
For ‘Big D’, one of those individuals just so happens to be Adam Booth, a coach known for developing his fighters’ mental fortitude.
The pair’s fighter-trainer relationship was only ignited last year and, already, Adeleye has noticed a sizeable difference, especially regarding his fight week preparation, after just two training camps with Booth.
“There are certain things we do during fight week that I haven’t really experienced before,” he says. “It’s nothing too hectic, but a few things just feel different.
“I already knew a lot about boxing, so it was always just about learning new things [from Booth]. Not the basics, because I already knew the basics, but Adam’s just been showing me different things.”
It is unsurprising, really, that Adeleye has experienced a different feeling while training with Booth, who most notably once guided David Haye to two-division championship glory.
Adeleye – an explosive, hard-hitting heavyweight – appears to be in good hands, then, but equally it seems he has found someone who truly understands his thoughts and emotions.
“We know that training is 90% physical, but fighting is 90% mental,” Booth highlights, just moments after taking his charge on the pads.
“If you’re not doing things to develop your fighter’s psychology and emotional state, then you’re only training part of the weapon.
“David’s the type of fella where there’s always going to be ups and downs, because he’s very emotionally expressive.
“He’s a bit like an Arabian racehorse, where they can perform better than any other horse, but they’re also quite temperamental.
“I understand that, so it’s just about working through the days where he might not have so much energy flowing through his system.
“There will be sessions where he’s feeling flat, and the motivation or enthusiasm isn’t quite there, but he’s still got to stay disciplined.
“Those sessions, for David, are probably more important than any other ones.”
Adeleye joined forces with Booth shortly after his devastating seventh-round stoppage defeat to Fabio Wardley back in 2023.
Naturally, Booth identified a host of flaws, not least regarding the Ladbroke Grove man’s endurance, from the rounds that led towards his first and so far only professional blemish.
At the same time, though, Adeleye demonstrated something during that performance which, from a trainer’s perspective, can only ever inspire a greater sense of excitement.
“In that Fabio Wardley fight, it was clear that [Adeleye] didn’t have the type of fitness he needed – and it looked like he wasn’t mentally engaged, either,” Booth admits.
“He got tired, got hurt and eventually got dropped. But in that state, he smiled, got up and tried to swing back, even though he had nothing left [in the tank].
“That shows you an element in someone that you can’t give them. It showed me that he’s got a fearless mindset, which every fighter needs.”
Sure enough, Adeleye cannot afford to mentally disengage, or even demonstrate the faintest sign of complacency, when he squares off against Filip Hrgovic this Saturday.
The pair will lock horns on the undercard of Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Adeleye is faced with a career-toughest test.
Despite falling short against Daniel Dubois last year, Hrgovic proved that he possesses a sturdy chin and strong fundamentals, two attributes that typically go a long way in the land of the giants.
Then, again, underlining his remarkable durability, the Olympic bronze medallist absorbed a considerable degree of punishment in his last outing against Joe Joyce.
That time around, however, he emerged with a unanimous decision victory and, in doing so, has placed himself back in the heavyweight world title picture.
And while Hrgovic did, indeed, find himself on the receiving end of rather too many punches against Joyce, Booth nonetheless believes the Croatian’s lack of movement is hardly something to jump for joy about.
“The reason why we’ve accepted the [Hrgovic] fight is because we’ve seen the progression of David, so it’s time to let him off the leash and test him against a genuine world-class heavyweight,” Booth says.
“It’s a fight that he can win, and a fight that he can lose. They’re the fights that I like, because it’s about proving yourself.
“It’s really the only thing that interests me as a coach – those fights where you’re the underdog.
“Filip’s not the hardest person to hit, but he’s got a granite chin. He doesn’t care. He’s so fearless, and so full of himself, that the fact that Joe Joyce hit him a lot is irrelevant.
“I’ve seen David Haye land clean shots on his chin [in sparring], and it didn’t faze him at all, so I know that getting hit isn’t Filip’s problem.”
Initially, it appeared as though the wheels were in motion for Adeleye to face Jeamie TKV, his domestic rival, in an immediate return of their highly controversial encounter in April.
Back then, the pair squared off for the British title, only for their previously lacklustre contest to end in dramatic fashion when Adeleye, just moments after referee Ron Kearney called ‘break’, landed a crushing left hook in the sixth round.
Unsurprisingly, his opponent was unable to recover from the shot and, soon after Adeleye got his hand raised, a rematch seemed to be in the works for August.
But instead of entering a second dustup with TKV, the spiteful puncher suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a rather unexpected phone call and, from there, began preparations for a vastly different assignment.
“I would’ve knocked him out more conclusively [in the rematch],” Adeleye says, not even a shred of doubt entering his voice.
“It was going to be frightening, but you know how God works – he wants Jeamie to continue boxing.
“So, I thought the rematch was going to happen, but then I got this big opportunity [against Hrgovic].
“A win over Hrgovic propels me closer towards those mouthwatering fights with the big names.
“I don’t shy away from no fights, so whatever fights get made for me, let them get made.”
