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Matchroom Boxing└Odel Kamara is making the switch from world class amateur competition to professional boxing with Matchroom
BIRMINGHAM, England – All eyes will be on Ben Whittaker this Saturday as he takes on Conor Wallace in front of a large crowd at Birmingham’s BP Pulse LIVE, however, a young man making his debut in the chief support may just steal the show.
That man would be Odel Kamara, the 22-year-old junior middleweight from Liverpool, England, who had the world’s leading promoters digging deep into their pockets to secure his signature. The battle of the chequebooks was won by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and they presented Kamara to the world with a comical sketch on Hearn’s private yacht.
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The sketch, although funny, did not display the seriousness of the acquisition that Matchroom had made. There was a reason the Amateur World Championships bronze medallist had promoters and managers circling. Kamara is a rarity in modern boxing, an unconventional puncher with frightening speed, reflexes, charisma, and the right attitude to go along with it.
Even I, a former stablemate of Kamara’s during our years training at the famous Salisbury ABC in Liverpool, experienced first hand the raw talent of the youngster. There was always a buzz around him, even since Kamara was knee-high. Crowds gathered to watch him spar, and when you were called up to go rounds with him you’d pray he’d be in a good mood. As gifted as Kamara was, he was always first in the gym.
The excitement and buzz around Kamara that started then has only grown, and there is an expectation from Hearn and fans that we will see the birth of a new star of British boxing.
That is a lot of pressure to place on a 22-year-old’s shoulders.
“Honestly, I’m just taking it all in at the moment,” Kamara told BoxingScene. “I’m loving every second of it and I just want to show the world and show everybody what I’m about and the hard work I’ve put in to get to this stage. I’ve said it all day today: pressure makes diamonds. I’m going to shine like a diamond come Saturday.
“Everyone knows already I can whack, so I think you’re going to see me put this guy out early and perform for the fans.”
Kamara’s arrival in the professional ranks has meant letting go of another ambition. As long as I’ve known Kamara Olympic gold was always the target, but his controversial defeat at the 2025 World Championships left him questioning whether another three years in the amateur system was a gamble worth taking.
“It took a lot of hard thinking and decision-making, but I think from that moment when it all went wrong, I was like, ‘I don’t go nowhere to lose. I’m nobody’s second place. I go to win,’” he admitted. “I thought, ‘If I can’t get the right decisions here, I’m going to have to go and get them somewhere else.’”
Walking away also meant accepting that the Olympic dream he had carried since childhood was over.
“Of course, but at the end of the day I want to provide for my family and it’s what I do boxing for. I’m a prize fighter, so I want to get paid for my efforts and I want to entertain properly and get recognised for it. That’s what the world stage and professional boxing stage can do for me.”
Kamara is clearly not short on confidence, and why should he be? He has been fighting all his life, first lacing up the gloves at three-years-old as a kick boxer before pursuing boxing. It is all Kamara has known, and when he is finished with the sport he hopes his name is forever intertwined with it, much like the greats that have come before him.
“[I want] nothing less than people putting me in the G.O.A.T. status,” said Kamara with his chest. “I want to be the greatest of all time. I wouldn’t be boxing if I didn’t think I can become that with hard work and dedication. So hopefully one day people speak of me highly with their names.”
Kamara may want to be one of the greats, however, there is no rush to get there.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m very far away, but the way Eddie Hearn’s set out the plan and the way Sam [Jones, my manager] has set out the plan, is we’re going to do this very sensibly,” he said. “We’re going to build my name first, and go through all the ranks. I want area titles, I want to get everything before I start putting myself on that main stage. So, yeah, we’re going to take it sensibly.
“Everything’s got to be planned out to perfection.”
Kamara may be taking his time at reaching the top, but he understands the division he is in, and the names that could be there when he is eventually let off the leash..
“I’d love to fight Ryan Garcia one day,” Kamara said. “I think that’d be a crazy showdown. Scouser versus Mexican-American, you know what I mean? And then we’ve got Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis out there, and Crawford. Crawford just because I love him. He’s one of my favourite boxers of all time.
“So to get in the ring with any of these guys would be an honour and a privilege, but I’d be putting it on them.”
Garcia, Ennis and Crawford may be targets for another day. For now, Kamara’s considerable ambitions have to start somewhere.
On Saturday night in Birmingham, they start with fight No. 1.
David Benavidez vs Andy Ruiz Jr?! Jose Benavidez Sr. REVEALS Huge Fight Plans
David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
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David Benavidez vs Andy Ruiz Jr?! Jose Benavidez Sr. REVEALS Huge Fight Plans
David Benavidez has no shortage of HUGE fights on his radar. In an exclusive interview with BoxingScene, Jose Benavidez Sr. makes it clear that David still wants the biggest names at 175lbs including Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. Benavidez has previously said those are two fights he wants to make as he pursues more titles and major challenges. But there’s another name that could make things very interesting: Andy Ruiz Jr. Jose discusses the possibility of an all-Mexican showdown between Benavidez and the former heavyweight champion, along with David’s plans across multiple divisions. And with a potential Jai Opetaia showdown also building after the pair came face-to-face following Opetaia’s latest victory, Benavidez has some massive options ahead.
Odel Kamara: ‘I want to be the greatest of all time’