BELFAST'S Caomhin Agyarko was due to face American Brandon Adams in a final eliminator contest for the IBF world-light middleweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday evening. Winning the fight was the last stepping stone in him achieving his dream of becoming Ireland’s first black world champion. Awaiting him would be the chance to join his old club mates from Belfast’s Holy Trinity Boxing Club, Anthony Cacace and Lewis Crocker, in the elusive pool of those who hold boxing’s highest honours.
Unfortunately his opponent Adams fell ill just hours before the weigh-in and was ruled medically unfit to fight. No dark arts, ducking or trickery here and thankfully the Los Angeles man is recovering and has recently been released from hospital. Brandon himself will have wanted this fight to happen for the same reasons as Agyarko.
Imagine though, being primed and ready to go, spending months in the gym away from friends and family, going through the gruelling weight cutting process all with one thought and one goal occupying your mind. All this only for your opponent to pull out hours from the fight that could catapult you to a world title shot and beyond. Through no fault of his own Agyarko now must find a way to keep himself in this condition and ready to fight as and when required.
The ultimate professional in Caomhin is ever apparent. As the news came to light his first thoughts were for his opponent who he wished a speedy recovery. In the days following, he and his team have rightly been strategising what is the next step in this journey to world champion. With questions over whether Adams can actually make the weight Agyarko believes he should now be in a position to by-pass this fight completely to avoid wasting any more time down the line. His manager Paul Ready has been piling pressure on the IBF to make his man the next challenger to current champion, England’s Josh Kelly, who achieved the title earlier this year.
The world of sporting greatness comes down to specific moments in time and who knows if they were to happen on Saturday night or whether they still await Caoimhin in the future. It doesn’t matter now, its out of his control and the fighter in Caoimhin will ensure that he continues to put himself into a position where he can achieve the plaudits he deserves.
