BY PHIL ROGERS
IS IT possible to be both a prospect and a world champion? This is the question Anthony Olascuaga ponders ahead of the first defence of his WBO flyweight title against Jonathan Gonzalez on October 14. With just eight professional fights on his record, Olascuaga is acutely aware of how rare his position is in the sport, a 7-1 fighter at the very start of his development while also getting used to having a target on his back.
“I am a prospect to certain people, because some people don’t even know who I am yet,” he tells Boxing News. “But I feel like once I get more fights under my belt people will start to recognise and get to know me. I don’t really put too much attention to me being a world champion until I get to defend it and actually start to become one. I feel like I haven’t proved myself to be worthy of being a champion yet. I mean, I put in the work and everything but I’m coming into this fight as a challenger because “Bomba” [Jonathan Gonzalez, his opponent] is still, in my eyes, he’s still a champion, because he’s just moving up a division. So, I need to beat this world champion so I can start to feel like one.”
Experiencing this feeling has meant studying his Puerto Rican challenger and making full use of the team assembled around him and, in trainer Rudy Hernandez, and stablemate Junto Nakatani, Olascuaga is feeling hugely confident in his preparations.
“I know that he’s a great boxer, a great mover, so I’m looking forward to prepping myself to having a mover in front of me. Throwing more than four to five punches at a time. I know he’s gonna have good counters. I’m having to be aware of that and working on what to do in that set of circumstances. Me and Rudy are having a great camp here with Junto and just overall feeling ready, conditioned.”
Indeed, the quality of Olascuaga’s sparring has consistently remained at the highest level, with likes of Carlos Cuadras, Roman Gonzalez, not to mention stablemate, Nakatani, all helping to sharpen his tools as a pro. The effect has been a leap forward technically, but also a huge shot in the arm for his self-belief.
“It gives me the confidence that I can be in that ring with world champions and still feel in control and confident that maybe, in the fight, I can injure them or take them out. It fills me with joy that I’m able to withstand their punches and continue to grow and be better then for the next sparring,” he says.
“I think the last sparring I had, not including Junto [Nakatani], would probably be with Chocolatito [Roman Gonzalez]. It was great sparring. It was back and forth action. He has a high punch volume. He throws a lot of variations of punches, and I feel like it made me work a lot on my defence. Also, my best defence is the best offecse, so I was able to catch him with shots coming in and I felt very good. I felt sharp.”
While this is only Olascuaga’s ninth professional fight it will also be the fourth time he’s fought in Japan, a country currently enjoying a golden era in the sport of boxing. For the 25-year-old American, these experiences have been a chance to savour the appreciation of a particularly refined group of fight fans, while also enjoying the orderly nature of a Japanese fight week.
“I feel like it’s more professional over there. It’s more of a controlled environment. Everything’s scheduled and you have to be scheduled accordingly. I feel like they’re great professionals over there and I have such a great time over there because the fans, they enjoy me fighting. They enjoy my style, and I get nothing but love over there. So I enjoy it.”
Olascuaga captured his WBO title in July of this year, brutally knocking out his challenger, Riku Kano, with an unorthodox left hook in the third round to leave his opponent senseless. Celebrations, however, were muted, his delight quickly receding as he awaited confirmation that Kano was safe and well.
“I trained my butt off for that fight and I was just hoping to get the knockout. And I did, I did it in spectacular fashion. I was just overcome by emotion. I didn’t really get to react. But I felt like I kept myself composed and I had to show respect to my opponent because I did knock him out pretty badly. So, I was just hoping that he was okay as well.”
The breakout moment for Olascuaga’s career came in April 2023, when WBC light-flyweight champion, Kenshiro Teraji, received news that his opponent [Jonathan Gonzalez, who Olascuaga is, ironically, now facing] was forced to withdraw from the fight due to pneumonia. With just two week’s notice, and making his 108lbs debut, Olascuaga jumped at the chance to fight for a world title in the champion’s backyard, and in just his sixth professional contest. Ultimately, it was a step too far for the American, but the nature of his performance, not to mention the cojones he showed in snatching up the opportunity, sent his career on an entirely new trajectory.
“It made me hungrier,” he says, reflecting back on the experience. “I felt like it opened up a lot of doors for me after the fight. I was coming into the fight with expectations to win but it was just very hard to make the weight and so fast that I was just, I was coming into the fight tired. But now that he’s moved up to a division where I feel comfortable, I feel like I would want to rematch Kenshiro. Because, I mean, he owes it. He owes it to me as a champion now that he’s gonna have to, if he wants to unify titles. I’ll be more than happy to. I’m ready whenever he is. I feel like time is on my side, because he’s only getting older and I’m only getting better.”
The pride Olascuaga still feels in rolling the dice that night is clearly evident, particularly at a time when some camps continue to calculate their fighter’s next move with the sort of conservative “risk vs reward” mentality that leaves many fans frustrated. For him, such a gamble is a major part of his persona, and something he’s adamant he’ll only build on as his career progresses.
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life,” right? Muhammad Ali said that perfectly. I just want to live by that, because if you don’t take risks in life then you won’t ever prosper in life. Life is all about taking risks. And, if you’re not ready now, then when will you ever be? It also demonstrates if your promoter is confident in your abilities as well, and if people trust you to be that guy. I feel like I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Every fight that they’ve ever put on my plate, I’ve always took it right there. I never, I never, back down from a fight. So, that’s what I want to be known as, as a fighter that never cherry picks his fighters or his fights and just continues to grow and prosper. I feel like challenges either make you or break you, and I want them to make me.”
Olascuaga’s route into boxing began with his introduction to trainer, Rudy Hernandez. Then just a wayward teenager lacking direction in life, the youngster’s spirit and raw potential helped develop the relationship, to the point where both men now share the strongest of bonds.
“I started because his [Hernandez’s] stepson, Michael Castro, him and I were friends growing up. So, I would come to the house a lot. I was a knucklehead, so I was not really paying attention in school. He wanted to put structure in my life so he asked my mum if I can stay with them for a while. And he just put structure in my life. And then the boxing, it just started with Junto [Nakatani] knocking me down with a body shot in a sparring session. Ever since then I wanted to get back at him. I wanted to start training, boxing, so I can get better, so I can beat Junto up the following time he’d come back. Because one thing about me is that I’ve always been very competitive in any sport. I guess it just triggered something in me, and then after that, it was a wrap. We just became friends. But the boxing was still in me, so I just started boxing because I liked it, not so much because I wanted to get revenge,” he reflects.
“He’s [Hernandez] definitely a tough love type of guy. He’s very old school. But I’ve known him for so long that I feel like I can say I know him, and I know he means well. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t say anything. But the fact that he’s still behind me, telling me what to do and what not to do. It just shows me that he still cares and he wants the best for me. Having people like that in your life can only make you better. So I’m grateful for the love Rudy has shown for me.”
Just as their relationship has developed into something more akin to family, so too has Olascuaga’s friendship with stablemate, Junto Nakatani. The Japanese three-weight world champion has been a crucial part of his boxing journey to this point, not only in sharpening Olascuaga’s skills but also in the standards he holds himself to as a professional.
“He’s made me a more confident fighter. Working with someone like Junto is incredible. He has a crazy work ethic and he’s very dedicated to his craft. What more can I ask for in a friend and a gym mate? He shows me what the possibilities are with putting in the work. And you’ve seen it. I only have eight fights and I’m already a world champion. It’s very rare but it can be done. With only eight fights, I have a long way to go. I hope the sky’s the limit for me. The first goal was becoming a champion, and now I want to become a unified champion. It’s always what’s next. It’s never, “Oh, I’m content with what I have.” I’m always trying to think, “If I can do this, then I can do that.” So I’m looking forward to it now.”
