He first entered a boxing gym at age 2. The storied Bellevue Square Boys Club in Hartford was a quick stroll away for a tyke named Mike Oliver. “I just walked in the gym. I just liked doing it,” Oliver recalls, speaking by phone from Connecticut. “The gym was right across the street from my house. I used to walk over and work out.”

“Mike-Mike was literally two years old when he started,” says John Scully, the former light heavyweight contender who’s been training Oliver since last year. “He’s been boxing so long, I remember him boxing an exhibition with a kid named Johnny Prado way back. Mike was so small that between rounds, they would lift him up to get him on the stool and his feet would dangle in the air-they didn’t even reach the canvas.”

A young Oliver went on to have a noteworthy amateur career, competing in over 300 bouts and appearing in the 2000 Olympic trials. He turned pro a year later, and hasn’t lost in building a record of 19-0 (7 KOs) and winning a USBA championship.

25 years after he first stepped in a gym, Oliver is a victory away from a shot at a world title. “Mike-Mike” will face former bantamweight titlist Cruz Carbajal on July 18 in Boston (ESPN 2 11pm EST), with the winner earning a shot at the IBF Super Bantamweight title currently held by Canada’s Steve Molitor. Oliver says he’s ready.

“I feel good, real confident,” he said. “I’ve got a good sparring partner (Bobby DaLuz), he’s helping me out. With Scully-he’s been pushing me. I’m more than ready.”

The Oliver-Carbajal bout presents an intriguing match up of styles. Oliver is the younger, quicker, fighter with flashy boxing skills. In Carbajal, he’ll be facing a rugged veteran who once held the WBO Bantamweight belt and has beaten the likes of former world champion Danny Romero and contender Jorge Lacierva. Scully believes youth and speed will be the keys to an Oliver victory.

“If we win, I think it’ll be because we’re younger, faster, harder to hit,” said Scully. “One thing about Mike-he has a lot of energy, a lot of spunk. He’s not afraid to let his hands go.”

“We fought a lot of guys similar to him,” Scully said. “Mike’s speed was the one big factor that made a difference. I certainly respect the guy and what he brings to the table, but if you match up Mike’s best style against his best style and all the intangibles, I think (Mike) will come out a winner.”

It doesn’t figure to be easy. Oliver admits it feels good to be near a title shot after all these years.

“Yeah. I love doing the sport. I’m ready to go.”