Q&A: Carlos Oliveira

By Robert Coster
Photo: MO Productions

Carlos Oliveira is a wealthy Brazilian textile industrialist. He is also a boxing promoter and manager who promotes and manages only one boxer, his son Michael Oliveira (14-0, 11 KOs), a 21-year-old middleweight, raised in Miami and Brazil’s top boxing prospect of the moment. Together, Carlos and Michael form a most unusual father-son duo in a most unusual story. Fightnews sat down with Carlos Oliveira to speak about him and his son’s unlikely foray into the world of boxing.

Carlos, it is not everyday that a textile industrialist like yourself turns to being a boxing promoter and manager. You are today the President of Michael Oliveira Promotions and your boxer and project is your son, Michael. Now, we are talking about a young man raised in affluence in Miami, a college boy who drives a Lamborghini; not exactly your average boxer. How did this unusual–maybe even incredible–story get started?

For a start, we are a family that has had a tie to boxing through Michael’s grandfather, Joao, who was a physical education teacher and used to spar with the great Eder Jofre. Therefore, Michael’s got some boxing DNA in him (smiles). But, to be honest, Michael started boxing to lose weight. He loved the sparring side of it and then one day, took the decision to step in the ring for real. Today, I am his father, promoter and manager and, if I had another young man like Michael with his charisma and a natural talent for boxing, I would act the same way.

Michael Oliveira Promotions just signed a contract with Brazilian media giant TV Globo. Why do you think they made this deal?

Brazil hasn’t had a boxing icon since Popo Freitas. Michael, with his undefeated record, is becoming very popular. We hope to make boxing a popular sport in Brazil, apart from soccer. We are honored to have TV Globo, the third largest television channel in the world, back up Michael’s career like that.

Let’s forget the hype part of Michael’s career and talk about his capacity as a boxer. He did not have an amateur career, an obvious drawback. As a pro, where is he training and how has he been progressing?

Michael is progressing fight after fight. He’s a young man with the determination, the strength and the smell of blood to execute. We want to bring him down to 154 lbs. He has been training with Orlando Cuellar in Miami and we have a conditioning coach, Roderick Moore of Florida International University.

In his last fight, Michael won the interim WBC Latino title against an unbeaten Argentinian foe. What is next for the rest of the year?

Michael will have two more fights this year, on July 13 and September 16, both times in Sao Paulo.

Here comes a blunt question. Is the final goal for Michael Oliveira to become a world boxing champion? Are both of you living a fantasy?

Why should Michael Oliveira step into the boxing ring if not to aim for a world boxing title? When you do something, you aim for the highest prize. Only time will tell if we are living a fantasy but, right now, we are sure having a good time.

May 16th, 2011

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