From cab driver to flyweight titlist: Anthony Olascuaga ready to solidify status

LOS ANGELES – Surely you’ve heard of the insulting diss by now: “So-and-so has only beaten cab drivers.” 

Well, up until his most recent fight, Anthony Olascuaga was a cab driver – and a barber, to boot, to support his burgeoning boxing career.

But no more.

Olascuaga, a 25-year-old flyweight from Los Angeles, has pumped the brakes and cut both jobs from his life as he heads into his title fight against Jonathan Gonzalez on Oct. 14 in Japan.

That’s because Olascuaga is now a world titleholder, having won the WBO 112-pound belt after knocking out Riku Kano inside three rounds for the vacant crown in July. 

Although Olascuaga (7-1, 5 KOs) has challenged for a title before, losing to then-108-pound Kenshiro Teraji in April 2023, he is still not a known commodity in the sport, with just eight fights under his belt.

With Olascuaga notching a win against the always-game and reigning WBO junior flyweight titleholder Gonzalez (28-3-1, 14 KOs), that will undoubtedly change.

“I need to solidify my name as a champion,” Olascuaga told BoxingScene during a recent training session at the LA Boxing Gym.

“I’m a little timid. I’m a little shy. I don’t take the belt out of the house. I feel like after this fight, I will own my championship status. I feel like I’m coming into this fight still as a challenger. I see a great opponent like Gonzalez in front of me as the champion. But once I beat Gonzalez by knockout, it’s going to be my real breakthrough and I’m going to feel like a champion. I’m ready to be a champion moving forward, and to tell everyone at 112 pounds that I’m here to stay.”

Olascuaga said he hasn’t yet experienced much of a difference in his life now that he is an active world champion – especially because he hasn’t yet cracked six-figure purses. He’s hoping promoter Tuto Zabala Jr. of All Star Boxing will change that as the wins keep mounting.

“I quickly went back into camp mode since beating Kano,” said Olascuaga. “I’m staying dedicated and focused on what got me here in the first place. I’m more zoned in now and dedicating my life to boxing full-time, instead of working Uber and seeing where my next meal is going to come from. It’s put me in a better position to only focus on my boxing career.”

With just 25 amateur fights under his belt, Olascuaga has enjoyed world-class sparring as his baptism by fire into boxing throughout the years, facing the likes of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, Carlos Caudras, teammate Junto Nakatani and even Teraji before he eventually fought him. 

Olascuaga got the Teraji fight as a late-replacement opponent simply due to the fact he was already in Japan training for another fight in South Korea. Olascuaga was knocked down twice and stopped in the ninth, suffering a TKO loss in the 108-pound title fight. 

“I won more than I lost in the Teraji fight because I made my name known,” said Olascuaga. “My promoter has since had more confidence in me, and I made a lot of fans. I thought I was already at a champion level, but losing to Teraji helped me want to get better. Teraji proved to me otherwise to have my tools ready.”

Olascuaga versus Gonzalez will be featured on teammate Nakatani’s undercard as part of a two-day Tokyo card featuring a combined seven title fights on ESPN+. The fight will mark Olascuaga’s fourth consecutive contest in Japan. 

“I have a lot of experience,” said Olascuaga. “I put in so much work with my head coach Rudy Hernandez, and he’s given me that champion mentality since the first day I worked with him. I’ve lived with him since the age of 15. He’s been a great example in my life. I have faith in him and am very appreciative for what he’s done for me and my career.” 

Olascuaga’s career-long coach Hernandez, who also trains Nakatani, has bestowed the peculiar nickname of “Princesa” on his blonde-haired charge. 

“It’s because I always have to be looking pretty,” said Olascuaga. “I do my eyebrows and nails, and color my hair. He’s old school, but I don’t mind the nickname.”

Olascuaga was planning to dye his hair pink for his first title defense, but he ran out of time because he had to move camp to Japan for the last stretch of preparation.

Some passions away from boxing are just too hard to quit, but a highlight win against Gonzalez will put Olascuaga in the driver’s seat to better control his career moving forward.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.