AMATEURS
Earls eld lightheavy Omar Augustine is making his run
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EARLSFIELD lightheavyweight Omar Augustine is looking to make an impression. He had the perfect warm up for the London stages of the England Boxing National Amateur championships (formerly known as the ABAS), winning a Title Belt in a one off bout against Double Jab’s Ola Alausa on March 9.
“I’d say it was good preparation,” Omar tells Boxing News. “The bout overall was a very close bout. Ola himself, he is a very strong boxer. It seems like nothing stops him coming forward. No matter what he’s always there. As for my performance, I think I could have done better in that bout. There’s always room for improvement.”
He is beginning to make a run through the Elite championships and could well meet Alausa again, if they both make it through to the finals. Augustine can’t take any of those contests for granted, especially if he gets a rematch. “I knew it was a close bout,” he notes.
But his form is improving. The Earlsfield boxer went on from there to stop Omnibus’ Faith Afolorun in two rounds in his first bout in the championships. “I think I boxed very well, much better compared to the last fight I had. My problem was I was rushing in too much. I’ve managed to reduce that now so I’m able to get my shots off better,” he says.
He now looks forward to his next championship bout on Saturday (March 23) against Repton’s Carlos Dwyer at the Tottenham Sports Centre, saying, “I’ve just got to do what I do best. I stick to what I do best and it seems to work out.” The programme of 16 Elite bouts starts at 6pm.
If he reaches the later stages of the competition he could meet Harwich’s Pat Allen Cripps again, the man who beat him in the final of last year’s Haringey Box Cup. “I feel that Haringey I was actually kind of proud of it because in the past I wasn’t my normal self. During the competition I was able to get back to how I box,” Augustine explains. “I learned that I need to work on movement more and I also need to throw punches.”
When he works at a high rate, Augustine is a formidable operator. That wasn’t always the case. He has developed as boxer over his years with Earlsfield. “I think I started when I was about 11,” he said. “In the early stages of my amateur career I wasn’t really winning much because I didn’t have that boxing ability that the others did. As I got closer to Youth I started being able to win more bouts.
“I will admit there were periods where I became fed up and [thought about] not continuing it. But my mum managed to encourage me to keep going to training and eventually I ended up getting back into it and getting my confidence.”
Now he has ambitions in the sport. “Of course winning’s a good thing, I like that but it’s not just winning, it’s winning the way you want to win. When a plan goes according to plan and you win because of that plan then that’s a great feeling that I get. As for motivations, if I win these competitions, the senior ABAS, then that can really put my name out there,” Augustine says. “My ultimate goal would be to become a professional and become a champion.”
‘IF I STICK TO WHAT I DO BEST, IT SEEMS TO WORK OUT’