When Anthony Cacace claimed the WBA super-featherweight title at the expense of Jazza Dickens last month, he completed a one-two of reigning world champions who graduated from the Holy Trinity club.
Cacace previously won and then relinquished the IBF title before returning to the top in March, while Lewis Crocker was crowned IBF welterweight world champion in Belfast last year with a points win over Paddy Donovan.
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The production line shows no signs of slowing down at the west Belfast club with Caoimhin Agayrko setting his sights on top honours as he prepares to take on Brandon Adams in a final eliminator for the IBF light-middleweight title at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas this Saturday [Sunday 04:00 BST].
As an amateur, Agyarko etched his name into the club’s rich history with Irish and Ulster Elite titles, but after hanging up the vest in 2018, professional glory has dominated his ambitions.
The 29-year-old, perfect through his previous 18 contests, watched with pride as his former club-mates realised their dream and now it’s his turn as he rolls the dice in Vegas with a shot at world champion Josh Kelly the prize for the winner.
“What Anto Cacace has done is inspirational and that is a credit to him and the boys in the gym: Michael [Hawkins Jr], Barry [O’Neill], Ruairi [Dalton] and Micky [Hawkins] Sr,” Agyarko told BBC Sport NI, referencing Cacace’s coaching team at Holy Trinity.
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“He’s a two-time world champion and in the history books, so that inspires someone like me who has followed him and trained alongside him as an amateur.
“It’s unbelievable to see how far he has come by having the right mentality, biding his time and backing himself. He’s had to do it the hard way and I am doing it the hard way too, so I can take inspiration from that.
“Lewis [Crocker] too – a great fighter and I was on the undercard of him and Donovan [rematch for the world title]. I was so happy for him to win the world title, so I want to be the next one from Holy Trinity to win a world title but I have to get past Brandon Adams first.”
Anthony Cacace and Lewis Crocker are current world professional champions who graduated from the Holy Trinity club in Belfast [Getty Images]
Hawkins Jr and O’Neill remain by his side with the former in Las Vegas as part of his coaching team which is led by Liverpool’s Stephen Smith who challenged for the IBF super-featherweight title almost 10 years to the day.
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“There’s a reason I train in Liverpool with Stephen Smith as each day I learn something new, but it’s also good to have people in my corner who have been there my whole career,” he continued.
“They all genuinely want the best for me and that helps me in tough moments in the fight.”
‘Headlining in Las Vegas is the stuff of dreams’
While Agyarko says headlining in Las Vegas is “the stuff of dreams”, he knows it is now a straightforward assignment against 36-year-old Adams [26-4] who enters with his career on the line.
The Californian has come close to a world title before, but fell to a unanimous decision defeat by Jermall Charlo for the WBC middleweight title in 2019.
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Defeat by Andreas Katzourakis in 2024 suggested his career may be hitting the skids, but an impressive points win over Serhii Bohachuk last September – the second time he has beaten the Ukrainian in his career – has bright him firmly back into contention.
Agyarko has had to work for his opportunity also, eking out a points win over Ishmael Davis on the Crocker-Donovan II undercard in Windsor Park to get into position.
He had to show all of his fighting qualities on that occasion and knows he must do again in a fight which is high risk, high reward for both.
“This could be his last chance to fight for a world title as he’s not getting any younger and it’s taken me a long time to get into this position, so I don’t want to throw that away and have to rebuild,” Agyarko explains.
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“He’s been beaten by good opponents, so he’s no slouch. He’d the massive win against Bohachuk, a very dangerous fighter, so it’s not a case of him being beaten every time he’s stepped up.
“His losses are against good fighters like Charlo, so I don’t read much into them and I know I just have to be the best version of myself.
“If I can replicate what we’ve been practising in camp, I can can get the win and in style but he is a dangerous fighter and I have to be on the ball from round one.”
Adams defeated Serhii Bohachuk last September [Getty Images]
While there is the tantalising prospect of a domestic dust-up with Sunderland’s Kelly should he win, a fight he believes “makes sense” after the pair circled one another in the past.
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However, he can’t look past Adams this week and is not in the mood to do so.
“Josh is a great fighter, but I believe Caoimhin Agyarko’s best beats everyone in the division,” he insists.
“I have to get through Brandon Adams first and I’m not looking too far ahead, but I believe I can become world champion this year.”
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