Newcastle’s Divine Omojor to Make Pro Boxing Debut on 24 October in Sheffield

Divine Omojor, a 20-year-old cruiserweight, will make his professional boxing debut on Saturday, 24 October. He will be featured on the Smith vs Puello bill at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, where Dalton Smith will defend his WBC super lightweight title. The entire card will be available for streaming on DAZN.

He won’t be alone; family and friends are travelling from Newcastle to see him. The group departs from Dining Oasis Restaurant in the city on match day at 2 p.m.

Divine recently signed a long-term deal with Matchroom Boxing in June. He spoke to Vantage as his camp built towards the night. "Exciting times are ahead," he said.

Who is Divine?

Ask him to describe himself and he keeps it short. "Just a young person that's worked hard," he said.

It is a modest answer from a man who won the national Elite title and Three Nations gold in the same year, at 18.

A fast rise

His ascent in the amateur ranks was quick. Before his coach would consider him for the Elites, he had to secure victory at the university championships. In his first year as a senior, he clinched the NACs and Tri Nations titles.

Earlier honours include the NABGC Youth National title and a win at the Haringey Box Cup. He also earned a White Vest at Team GB’s Roaring Lions event.

He has diligently continued his studies and is pursuing a computer science degree at Northumbria University, while simultaneously receiving professional training. His dedicated amateur coach, Ross Wilkinson, remains with the team, and Dean Lain has joined as well. When he signed, Omojor expressed his excitement, calling it “a dream come true.”

Faith and family

Speaking about his faith and family, which he prioritises above all else, he expressed gratitude, saying, “With God’s grace, He’s been my guiding light, helping me persevere and stay on track.”

His family and close friends come next. He described their support as “special” and “second to none.” Then, he reaches for an image. “You know a car can’t run on its own. It needs fuel, petrol. They’re like my fuel. Without my family or my close friends, they’re my backbone.”

He said they matter most in the hard stretches. "When it's going hard, when it's going easy, they're the ones to still keep me level-headed, to still talk sense to me certain times. They're everything."

A Newcastle boy

Divine wants to fight at St James' Park one day. The reason is personal. "Growing up in Newcastle, being a Newcastle boy, going to the stadium as a young lad, and you see over 50,000 people. That isn't a small number." He remembers all those people in one place, there for football. "It's amazing. If I could replicate something like that down the line and fight there, it feels surreal."

He is open about the magnitude of his dream. When asked if Newcastle might one day consider him among its sporting legends, he doesn’t mince words. “I don’t see why not, without a doubt, 100%.” He added, “God willing, by God’s grace, hopefully.” He aspires for his name to be etched alongside the city’s greats. “When all is said and done, my name can be up there with the exceptional heroes of the city, like the Alan Shearers.”

Giving back

Divine also looks beyond his own career. At a StreetGames festival for children, he held pads for kids who had never boxed. He showed them the basic one-two.

"To see the excitement in their faces, they're full of life, full of joy," he said. "It was special to be around them."

He believes it helps him too. "It's inspiring to them, and it's also inspiring to me, to see that, 'Okay, what I'm doing here is actually something good.' To push kids into a good path, it's just the right thing to do."

The grind

He knows the professional ranks are a big step up. Training is relentless. "It's not easy. It's very, very rigorous training, day in, day out, week in, week out."

The amateurs taught him a lesson he still leans on. "You can't get anywhere without hard work." Much of that work happens alone, on runs and in strength sessions away from the gym. "In the back of your head, you know it'll all be worth it. Those hard days and hard sessions will pay off when you're under the lights."

Pro life is a different game

Divine said the professional game is already different from what he knew. "It's more of a business. People are spending their hard-earned money to come and be entertained. Boxing is entertainment."

He explained how fans choose who to watch. "You're not going to spend your money on someone you don't like or you don't want to see. But you might turn on the TV to watch someone like Anthony Joshua or Floyd Mayweather because you want to be entertained or you like their character."

So skill is only part of it. "As much as being good, you have to sell yourself and be entertaining as well." He says there is much more to learn in the ring too. "It's way more complex." But he is calm about the fighting itself. "Fighting is not a problem."

One of one

Asked what he would be doing if he were not a boxer, he laughed it off. "Only God knows." He believes he would have done well in any path. "I can imagine that I would have excelled." But he cannot say where.

Asked which professional he sees himself becoming, he will not pick one. He studies other fighters and sees similarities. But he refuses the comparison. "I like to think I'm one of one. I think I'm very unique in that aspect. I've got a bit of everything, and down the line everyone will see that. There's only one Divine."