Exclusive FightMatrix Interview with Nigerian Triagon Boxing Promoter, Olumide Oyedapo

Introduction

Olumide Oyedapo is making a significant impact on the boxing community in Nigeria. He has a new organization called the Ikuuku Triagon Boxing Promotion. He is working diligently to help boxers aged 30 – 40 years old with his new organization. Olumide has a heart of gold; I am certain of this.

Since Olumide has experience as a boxer and has helped develop boxers in the past, he is a great asset to the boxing industry. He told me essentially, boxing has helped to shape who he is today.

He was raised in a close-knit family, where his parents instilled the importance of respect, discipline, and of course family. When you read more about Olumide, you will understand what type of person he is. Additionally, it’s evident that he puts his all in his work and everything that he does.

Q & A

FightMatrix: What was your childhood like and family life?

Olumide Oyedapo: Childhood was a little strict, haha, I grew up in a very Christian home but I had fun with the pranks, I remember one time Dad was away to Pakistan, I was about 12 years old and I grabbed his cars and trust me, I drove at that very early age. Dad was very present at home though I spent more time with mom especially when Dad was elevating at his career. I was raised by well-read folks, I have two siblings and I am the oldest one. I was never really a bad kid but goodness gracious, I experimented with a lot of things on the whim, got whooped and all that, looking back it was a great time and I’m thankful for every second it. I’d love to go back to change a few things but still, I’m grateful for everything.

 

FM: I know you were a boxer. I would love to hear how you became involved in boxing?

OO: Ah boxing, one of the greatest gifts life has given me. I was leading quite a distasteful life in my young adulthood, I had been experimenting with marijuana, a lot of beer and stuff but I wanted a change, an active lifestyle. I wanted to try football but I didn’t know how to kick a ball… all this time I was already in the university. I met boxing by a stroke of luck. I went to a local hotel to have some beer, I had a few bottles and on my way out I walked past the hotel gym where a boxing class was going on, I stopped to watch and I loved it. Two days later, I started the classes. My boxing autobiography can be rightly titled – From Bottles to Boxing, haha.

 

FM: What type of impact did boxing have on your life long-term?

OO: The process is still ongoing, but shortly after getting into boxing training, I knew boxing would change my life and it did, literally and metaphorically. I stopped drinking and smoking, which invariably improved my health and strength levels. During training, I learnt more about myself, resilience, discipline and punctuality. After graduating from the university, I was able to look and position myself into a career in boxing, which has continued till today. I started in the media and now in fight promotions. The journey ahead is still long and viable and I’m grateful for the gift of boxing.

 

FM: Please explain what Ikuuku Triagon Boxing promotions entails.

OO: Ikuuku is the Yoruba word for punch and fist. Ikuuku Fight Championship is a groundbreaking fight platform in Nigeria that aims to decentralize fighting opportunities strictly on merit. At this time where the politics of the fight game is robbing fight fans of seeing genuine talents, we want to provide a space where your skills and guts will make lives better for the fighters, a place where fighters are not treated like commodities and fight fans can enjoy a new fight experience, an ample opportunity to build a new generation of fight stars.

Ikuuku Fight Championship will showcase all types of approved combat sports but for now, our focus is on boxing and kickboxing, where we have more knowledge and technicality.

 

FM: What gave you the idea to do a Triagon style boxing organization?

OO: When I started my sports agency, Small Town Boxing and Innovation – the innovation wasn’t just a word, it was a plan. We are looking for new ways to do things, being tired of the status quo and with a lot of Nigerian youths having been bitten by the fight bug, training their asses off everyday without a clear path to achieve sporting excellence and stardom. We designed The Triagon to catch attention and to let the world know, we are only here to do new things and to create new pathways, avoiding bureaucracy, boxing politics and bottlenecks is also a big part of the decision.

 

FM: If people would like to sponsor your promotion, how can they do so? How do potential sponsors reach you?

OO: We aim to create value with our events and as more value that we are able to create through the events, we believe brands and corporations will be able to see through our vision and want to be part of it. We are determined to change lives with the Ikuuku Fight Championship as we take it around the nation, bringing purpose into the lives of people, it will be a local event with a global outreach as we work with our international media partners, it’s definitely Ikuuku to the world. Brands and marketing managers that like the sound of this can reach me via email at ooyedapo@gmail.com or through the LinkedIn page, Facebook and Instagram on Ikuuku Fight Championship.

FM: Who is your favorite boxer(s) of all time?

OO: My favourite boxer of all time has to be Aaron Pryor, I like what he embodies. In more recent times, I think I’m drawn to Dimitri Bivol and Jai Opetaia. These guys understand what the fight game means, and as dangerous and skillful they both are, you can see the cautiousness with which they approach their fights and the respect they have for the noble sport. I also have immense respect for the late Muhammad Ali, Anthony Joshua and my respect goes to the Nigerian boxer that died recently, Olanrewaju Segun Success.

 

FM: When you’re not dealing with boxing, what do you do for hobbies?

OO: I like to read history so I read a lot. I’m looking into fishing – I think I’d enjoy it as I need to learn to slow down these days. Besides boxing nothing thrills me more than flag football, I’d love to play that sport.

 

FM: Who has been the most influential person in your life?

OO: My personal lord and savior, Jesus Christ, this is sacrosanct. I draw a lot of motivation from the late Nipsey Hussle, my aunt Temitope Olanipekun and my immediate family have had a tremendous impact on my life.

 

FM: What are your short-term and long-term career goals?

OO: Short term goals is to float a viable fight league in Ikuuku Fight Championship, the long term goal is to build or be part of a profitable fight business ecosystem and the long term goal is to have world champions in my stable!

 

FM: Is there anything else you would like people to know about you or your promotion?

OO: About me, I am deeply passionate about combat sports – the impact it can have on a man’s life cannot be overemphasized, I believe a lot of society’s problems can be solved by entrenching a combat sports culture full of value and respect. Ikuuku Fight Championship is an incubation project where fighters will be taught the nitty gritty of the fight game and business as they develop themselves and build a life for the future. The youth must not be wasted.