Oli Cassidy feels like he can take his chosen division by storm after already expressing a never-say-die attitude as a fighter.
He’s going for a hat-trick of pro victories on BCB Promotions’ next show in Wolverhampton, at the Hangar Events Venue (Pearson Street), on the Sunday afternoon of December 12.
The 24-year-old can see his future at either welterweight or super welter, having boxed at the latter for both of his pro outings so far.
His paid bow took place on the other side of the world, for him, having become involved with the Fortitude Boxing Gym while away in Brisbane, Australia.
That opening bout went the distance and was scored by three judges, who ensured Cassidy’s hand was lifted by majority decision.
None of the officials went against him, though, with tallies of 40-36 and 39-37 in his favour, while the other posted a 38-38 draw.
That victory over future area boss Michael Bagley got him up and running, before the Coronavirus crisis forced him back home to England.
He’s since joined forces with new trainer Richard Ghent, who puts him through his paces at the RG Box Fit gym in Bilston, Wolverhampton.
Cassidy has been based in the Black Country for four years, having relocated to Rowley Regis having grew up in Tamworth.
It was with Tamworth Boxing Club where he began his amateur career, then featuring for Priory Park BC towards the end of that run.
His exploits yielded 35 victories and Midlands supremacy in the England Junior competition, which resulted in a run to the national semi-finals.
The last pro action he saw came in September, where he outpointed Seamus Devlin by a 40-36 points landslide, with Ghent leading him into battle.
He certainly has the confidence of a challenger, having sparred with domestic contenders and stable-mates Conah Walker and Danny Ball.
Cassidy said: “I don’t think I know anyone who had a debut quite like mine! The trip to Australia started when me and my girlfriend, Joanne, went travelling there.
“We stayed in Brisbane for a few months and I ended up Googling some of the local gyms there. I started training and it just went on.
“They gave me the choice to box amateur or pro, I chose to turn pro. I’ve never been bothered about my record, so I just decided to give it a go.
“I learned, from being an amateur, that you can’t win all of the time and that you’ll be on the wrong end of some dodgy decisions, so I don’t fear losing.
“But I managed to get the decision, on my debut, then the pandemic hit and we had to get ourselves home, instead of moving on to Asia as we’d planned.
“I sold one ticket for my debut – and that was to my girlfriend. It’s different over there, they sell the show on the whole, rather than allocating a certain number of tickets to each fighter.
“It was like making my debut all over again, when I boxed back home last time, with a new coach (Richard Ghent) in the corner, after training together for more than a year.
“It was a bit more straight-forward and I showed some of the things that we have been working on, but there is much more to come from me.
“The whole name of the game is to see how many titles you can pick up and, of course, I want the same from my career, but you can’t skip the apprenticeship.
“I’ve seen enough around me to show me that it’s not out of reach. Conah (Walker) and Danny (Ball) have had their opportunities and, in time, I’ll be pushing for my own chances.”
Tickets for the Hangar bill are available now, priced at £40 standard or £75 VIP ringside with buffet, directly from the boxers or by visiting myfighttickets.com.
