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More on KentOnline
Karol Itauma knows his way to the top and has plenty of time to get there.
The 20-year-old eight-time national amateur champion and Olympic youth gold medallist makes his professional boxing debut this Saturday.
Itauma, who is from Chatham and fights out of St Mary’s, is the latest Kent prospect to have turned pro with Frank Warren under the Queensbury Promotions banner. He’s on the undercard this Saturday alongside unbeaten Maidstone professionals Dennis McCann (7-0) and Sam Noakes (4-0).
Leaving the amateur ranks means an end to hopes of a senior Olympic challenge for Itauma but he’s eyeing the ultimate goal.
He said: “Everyone is different and it was about what worked for me, at the end of the day my dream has always been to be a world champion. Now I am on that right path and it is all good.
“I want to bring home the British and World titles, that is it. My mum has always told me from a young age, if you are going to do something then do it properly. That has stuck with me. Whether that is business, property, or boxing, I just want to give it my all.”
It’s been a busy period for light heavyweight boxer Itauma, building up to his first professional fight, which takes place in Westminster on Saturday. The show is being broadcast by BT Sport and is headlined by the Commonwealth light heavyweight bout between Lyndon Arthur and Anthony Yarde.
Itauma is training to be a financial adviser and can mix that with his busy schedule.
He’s one of four brothers, Samuel is the footballer of the family, who has also got a mean punch, while Enrico is also progressing well as a heavyweight. There is an older brother Charles who is into IT and three sisters.
It’s a family that Karol has loved having behind him.
He said: “I feel that if you have a strong support network and a family to fall back on, even in tough times they lift you up, that is what it is about, all helping each other, because we all have the same dream, to get to the top.
“You can’t say you just did it on your own, it is all team work. Both my mum and dad, even though they have gone their separate ways, they have both supported me a lot and whenever I need advice I know I have good people around me.”
Itauma has proved what he can do in the amateur ranks and now it all starts in the pros but he doesn’t need to rush into it.
He said: “The trophies are the cherry on top, all that matters is getting to where I see myself. I visualise where I want to get to and I feel that is what matters. The medals and that are just a bonus.
“The more fights I get I am only going to get better, bigger, stronger and it is about learning and improving.
“It was a proud moment to win at the youth Olympics, it had been all I had been working towards for months and as a boxer I had to make a lot of sacrifices and when you get what you have been dreaming about it was unreal. But life is all about moving and progress, you can’t be stagnant, I have now set my next goal.
“You have to take it a step at a time, if you look too far forward you might trip over yourself. If you take it a step at a time at the end of the day you will eventually get to the top of the staircase. It is there, I can see it, but it is one step at a time.”
