Heavyweights have always made the boxing world go around.

A particularly active and entertaining era in the sport’s glamour division is drawing to a close. Tyson Fury insists he is still happily retired and with undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder all nearing the end of their storied careers, the search is on for fighters capable of picking up the baton and maintaining the sense of excitement.

If things go the way Matchroom believe they will, 18-year-old Leo Atang will eventually become one of the sport's biggest and most recognisable names.

So far however, life hasn’t changed too much for the talented teenager. For the time being, Atang can still move around his hometown of York relatively freely.

“No, I can still go out. I get the odd person ask me for a photo. I was at a service station the other day and someone asked me which is quite cool but other than that, everything’s normal,” Atang told The Ring with a laugh.

Eddie Hearn heralded Atang’s arrival in the paid ranks by declaring that he could one day follow in the footsteps of two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua. However, Matchroom have also preached patience with Atang, who won the 2024 World Boxing Under-19 Championships but decided to turn over without having a senior amateur bout.

Last month, Atang (1-0, 1 KO) got his career underway by getting rid of Bulgaria’s Milen Paunov inside a round.

Judging by the very scant evidence his professional debut provided, Atang’s speed and athleticism would already give him a decent chance of blitzing plenty of veteran heavyweights but those same fighters would be robust, knowledgable and resilient enough to cause him no end of problems the longer the fight went on.

Atang is far too valuable a commodity to be rushed and the aim for all involved will be to ensure that if and when he des reach the top, he is equipped to stay there.

The publicity machine will kick into overdrive again this weekend but, on the whole, Atang is being allowed to grow and develop at his own pace.

“I know that myself as well,” Atang said. “I’ve got a lot of work and maturing to do. It’ll come eventually but we're in this game for a long time, we're just going to enjoy every step, learn and progress as much as possible.”

Every day is a school day for Atang who is still some time away from preparing for specific opponents and spends his time trying to perfect his whole game.

This weekend, boxing fans get another chance to assess how he is progressing. Atang will box Cristian Uwaka (1-5-1) at the Rainton Meadows Arena. The fight will be screened worldwide on DAZN.

Atang and Uwaka are separated by 22 years. The 40-year-old made a belated entrance to the world of professional boxing and quickly slipped into his role as an opponent. He has boxed seven times in 18 months and has so far proven to be a durable test for young heavyweights.

“I think, by the looks of it, he's in better shape than I am,” Atang laughed.

“He's a tough guy. I think he's been stopped once. He goes the rounds and he's had a little draw upset with a debutant. It’ll be good to get in there with him.

“I can't just rely on blowing him out of there with a big flurry straight away. I've got to work on him and break him down.”

Atang will be given lots of time to establish himself but his profile and reputation will ensure that even the most negative opponents will climb between the ropes aware that they can make their name and ensure themselves years of work if they can upset him.

He is level headed enough to be able to detach himself from any outside pressures and focus purely on the job at hand.

"That's a good way to think. I've never really thought of it like that, to be fair,” he said.

“But at the end of the day it's just an opponent. It’s something they do day in, day out as well, I'm sure so we’re gonna get in, do what we do and what happens on the night happens on the night.”