At just 18, Adam Maca isn’t dreaming of greatness—he’s chasing it full speed. With a glittering amateur record, swagger in his step, and Madison Square Garden in his sights, the Brighton-born boxer is stepping into the professional ring with heavyweight ambition.
From playground punches to Madison Square Garden
While most 18-year-olds are winding down after exams or booking summer holidays, Adam Maca is heading into the most iconic venue in boxing to make his professional debut. Just three weeks after his birthday, the Brighton fighter will step into the ring at Madison Square Garden, fighting under the lights on the undercard of Richardson Hitchins’ world title bout against George Kambosos Jr.
“It hasn’t really kicked in yet,” Maca told BBC Sport ahead of the big night. “Maybe when I’m making my way ringside it’ll feel more real.” Despite the surreal stage, Maca doesn’t seem overwhelmed. His tone is cool, his outlook sharp. This isn’t just a debut—it’s the first chapter in a story he’s been writing since childhood.
A fighter born in the gym
Maca’s roots in boxing run deep. The son of an Albanian father and a British-Yemeni mother, he first stepped into a boxing gym at the age of five—thanks to his mum, who was looking to channel his boundless energy. “I was doing loads of sports at the time,” he says. “But when I started sparring at about nine, I just fell in love with it.”
It was that first punch, ironically, that sealed it. “The first time I got hit, I thought, ‘I have to get him back.’ I used to get angry when I’d get hit,” Maca laughs. “You have to learn to take one and land two in a minute.” That instinct to fight back, to outthink and outpunch, quickly evolved into a competitive edge that set him apart from his peers.
A teenage résumé few can match
In the amateur ranks, Maca racked up an astonishing 80 fights—more than double the tally of most his age. He’s collected seven junior titles, five of them national, and represented Albania at the 2023 IBA World Junior Championships, where he claimed a silver medal. It’s a résumé that turns heads, and it did just that for Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn.
“He was always the guy I wanted to sign with,” Maca said. “We even cornered him once at an event when I was younger. He told us, ‘Come back when you’re older.’ So now here we are.” That “we” includes fellow young heavyweight Leo Atang, who, like Maca, is also set to make his professional debut at 18.
The long road to Brighton
Though based in Chatham, Maca makes a three-hour round trip several times a week to train in Brighton under coach Dan Woledge—the same trainer who helped launch Moses Itauma’s professional career. That kind of commitment underscores the serious mindset Maca brings to the sport.
He describes himself as a “come forward fighter”—relentless, aggressive, and built for the pro ranks. His debut opponent, Rafael Castillo, may be twice his age, but with a record of just two wins in eight fights since 2017, the match-up is designed to ease Maca into the professional scene. That said, Maca insists he’s ready for much more. “There’s nothing that scares me,” he says, dead serious.
More than talent: confidence, culture, and belief
Maca’s confidence isn’t arrogance—it’s armour. “My mum and sisters gas me up all the time,” he jokes. “But it’s also from sparring with top kids and knocking them out. That’s where it comes from.” Backed by his team, his family, and his own self-belief, he’s entering the sport not to survive, but to thrive.
At the heart of his ambition is a vision as specific as it is bold: by age 25, he wants to be an undisputed world champion—driving around in a carbon black Bugatti, no less. While some may scoff, there’s a clear method behind Maca’s mindset. “Since I was a little boy I wanted to be a professional boxer. Your heart’s not in it [as an amateur]—I just always wanted to turn pro. So when I turned 18, I knew I would.”
A dream that doesn’t wait
For all the big talk and even bigger goals, Maca is still just a teenager walking into a grown man’s sport. But he’s not here by accident. Every spar, every road trip, every gym session has been a brick laid in the foundation of this moment. And as he steps into the ring on Saturday night, there’ll be nerves—but also a sense of destiny.
He’s not easing his way in. He’s sprinting. And with Matchroom behind him and a nation—or three—watching, Adam Maca is aiming to prove that the next great boxing story might just be starting in Brighton.
