Get to Know… the 'Rock Ferry Apostle' Wayne Adeniyi
BBN spoke to the current Central Area cruiserweight champion, Wayne Adeniyi, to find out more about the religious fighter from Liverpool.
After a somewhat inactive couple of years only fighting once this year, the former England international is looking ahead to a busy schedule in 2016. The 32-year-old from Rock Ferry answered our 40 rounds of quick-fire questions.
Name: Wayne Adeniyi
Record: 11-0
Weight: Cruiserweight
Born: Hackney, London
Residence: Rock Ferry, Merseyside DOB: 26/01/1983
Nickname? ‘Denz’
Favourite current boxer? “Floyd Mayweather Jr., Keith Thurman and that Vasyl Lomachenko is the most gifted boxer I’ve ever seen in my life!”
Favourite all-time boxer? “Muhammed Ali.”
Favourite fight? “Definitely the Thriller in the Manilla.”
Amateur clubs? “Mersey ABC and Vauxhall Motors which is now the Wirral Community.”
Amateur honours? “Four Nations number 1 at 86kg for four years.”
Biggest achievement in boxing? “Winning the Central Area cruiserweight title after 14 months out of the ring.”
Goals in boxing? “To win a world title.” Retirement age? “Whenever I feel I can’t go on, I’d love to be feeling strong and good enough to box at 40.”
Team? “Peter Phelan, Louis Cuddy, George Scofield, Carl Barrie.”
Boxing style? “I’m a boxer-fighter, combination puncher, good mover, a stylist.”
Ring walk song? “Anything by Bob Marley.”
Favourite brand of gloves? “I like Cleto Reyes.”
Toughest ever opponent? “I’d have to say Courtney Fry. We’ve never boxed but we’ve had hundreds of rounds together in sparring. Great fighter!”
Best venue? “The Echo Arena in Liverpool.”
Favourite football team? “Tranmere Rovers FC.”
Other sports? “Footy. I was on the books at Tranmere as a kid and I captained the Wirral County team.”
Best friends in boxing? “Got to be Louis Cuddy and Michael Ramabeletsa.”
Favourite holiday destination? “I like Florida.”
Favourite film? “Hurricane is good or The Godfather Trilogy. I’ve got to mention the Ali film with Will Smith and the Ray Charles film with Jamie Foxx as well.”
Favourite actor? “Denzel Washington.”
What song do you like at the moment? “Anything that my kids like. Personally I like all the old songs and gospel music.”
Favourite food? “My nan, Dolly Davies’ Sunday roast.”
Favourite gadget? “I like my phone, the iPhone 5.”
Favourite brands? “I wear a lot of trackies really. I like my designer labels, you can’t go wrong with the old school Italian stuff like Gucci and Armani. I like G-Star as well.”
Favourite superhero? “I loved He-Man, he was my favourite when I was a kid. My little lad loves Spider-man so either of them two.”
Phobias? “Got loads but nothing like spiders or snakes or anything like that.”
Motto? “Put God first.”
Next fight? “Probably going to be February now in a title defence.”
What fight do you want to see happen next year? “I’d like to see Khan v Brook. I think it’s a tough one but I’d like to see Kell Brook win.”
If you could fight anyone, past or present, who would it be? “I’d like to fight a proper, stocky little banger like Mike Tyson.”
Tell us something that not many people know about you? “I played football at a high level when I was younger.”
Twitter? @WayneAdeniyi