As 2024 comes stomping in, Super Middleweight bruiser Michael Oliverira is gearing up to throw his hat in the division ring.
This 33-year-old pugilist boasts a record that’s not just for show: 22-2, with 16 of those wins coming by way of knockout. He’s itching to remind the world he’s the same guy who steamrolled his first 16 fights and had folks whispering about world titles.
Now calling Denver home, after a stint in Miami and a hop from his birthplace Brazil, Oliveira is planning a grand re-entry to the ring in March, tipping the scales at 170 lbs. His campaign will rock the 168 division.
Teaming up again with the matchmaker extraordinaire Jon Beninati, he’s not just getting help with coaches and potential sugar daddies (a.k.a. sponsors). Beninati’s a walking encyclopedia of world champs, so Oliveira’s betting on some of that magic dust. “Training every day, working on not huffing and puffing, and slimming down for the big show,” Oliveira quips.
He’s eyeing two or three warm-up scraps before hunting down a fight that actually makes the crowd go wild.
Now, Oliveira hasn’t exactly been a regular face in the ring for the past ten years, but he wasn’t just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. “Took a detour, played cop in Denver. You know, just your usual career switch,” he jokes about his time away from boxing.
Formerly kicking balls instead of punching faces in soccer, and now a family man with a kid, he’s not taking his comeback to the squared dance floor lightly. “Was a bit of a greenhorn back then, didn’t play my cards right with the big shots around me. Now? I’ve got my grown-up muscles and a head that’s not just a hat rack. Give me a shot, and I’ll knock it clear out of the park,” he declares with a wink.