Adam Kaoullas is a 25-year-old professional boxer who has been on the path of success for a while now.

He fights in the welterweight division (for the uninitiated, that’s in between the lightweight and middleweight) and has already been named Victorian champion multiple times already in his career.

Now, he aims higher. This year, Adam finally got the chance he was looking for as he was given an invitation to fight against third-ranked Ben Kite for the Australasian championship and should he win, he will rightfully be considered among the greatest boxers the nation has to offer.

Speaking to Neos Kosmos, Kaoullas told us about his success and his hopes for the future, but also about the difficulties he faced earlier on in his career, which taught him many valuable lessons and allowed him to reach the level he is at today.

In regards to how he first got into the sport, the aspiring champion says that it wasn’t that much of a hobby, but rather a moral obligation that compelled him. But the more he trained, the more he found himself getting immersed in the sport.

“I just wanted a way to be able to protect my family. So I did to just to be the ‘man of the house’, as they say. I wanted to be that person for them. But after I saw all of its mental and physical benefits, it really grew into a passion for me. It also helped me stay on the right path when I was younger, as I could’ve very easily gone down a wrong road,” he reveals.

“My closest friends at the time were doing drugs on a daily basis and even though I still hung around them, I avoided all those types of things. Because to be a boxer, you can’t be doing that. You need to be fit and healthy and I had already the identity of an athlete. Which is why it was so easy for me to say no to all those things that are not right as I was growing up.”

But it wasn’t all sugar and rainbows for the young athlete. A long-term injury he sustained, forced Kaoullas to stay out of the ring for a long time and almost ended up putting all he had worked so hard to accomplish at risk.

Despite the challenge, he never gave up, instead putting this time to good use, to become as best prepared as possible for the time when he would be able to step back into the fray.

“I couldn’t even do a push up for three years, the injury was that bad. The socket on my shoulder was misshaped, it’s hard to explain it. I would have severe pains constantly. And it was due to the repetitive use because I didn’t exercise properly when I was younger, I just went hard all the time. In hindsight, my training regime doomed me for failure. But in those three years, I had the chance to focus on my studies and I learned a lot about the human anatomy. And it helped me better understand how I should train,” he said.

“I did an exchange program in San Diego where I did a major in Applied Kinesiology. At the same time, while I was there I was volunteering at a clinic for individuals with disabilities and that was a very rewarding experience as it taught me so much about myself. Later on, my partner and I followed a yoga course and now we’re both qualified yoga instructors. You don’t get many boxers who are qualified yoga instructors!”

MORE: The Greek boxer who overcame her grief to become an Australian champion

A proud Kaoullas shows off his championship belts.

Kaoullas has been dubbed in the ring as ‘the Golden Greek’, drawing on his strong Greek heritage – his mother was born in Greece and his father in Famagusta, Cyprus – a connection that he says he draws on during his fights.

“It’s something I carry with me. I actually walk into the ring wearing a Spartan helmet which is a part of the show, but it also represents my heritage and what our ancestors wore in battle. It kind of gives me a little bit of that warrior’s spirit that they were known for,” he says.

It’s obvious that Kaoullas’ experiences up to this point have shaped him, both as a person and a highly competitive athlete, equipped to handle any challenge that might come his way. His feats will be keeping us busy in the days to come.

READ MORE: Kambosos Jnr: ‘The Greeks deserve a World Champion’