AIMAN’S LIFE CHANGING MEETING
Encounter with legendary Manny Pacquiao inspires Malaysian pro to new heights
FOR Malaysian boxer Aiman Abu Bakar, a fight in Las Vegas would be the icing on a great year for the 25-year-old who won last Sunday's undercard in Makati City, the Philippines.
“After the recent win, I'm slowly getting recognition from the boxing world,” he said.
“What we set out to do next is to stay active, keep winning and hopefully by the beginning of 2018 I'll be in a great position to be fighting in world class arenas such as Las Vegas.”
After the win, Aiman was dubbed as one of the best boxers to come out of Malaysia and he is one of only two pro boxers currently active.
Active in the boxing scene in the Philippines, Aiman had reasons to believe his career would blossom there due to the birth of greats such as Manny Pacquiao whom he had met.
“They’ve produced lots of world-class calibre boxers throughout the years and I’ve always believed that if you want to achieve greatness, you have to surround yourself with the very best.”
“I would say meeting the great Pacquiao was the most mind blowing to me and just watching him train gave me the idea of how a world class boxer looks like.”
The life changing encounter has inspired Aiman to reach new heights as Pacquiao advised the young boxer to work hard, pray to god and make sacrifices.
These words are motivation enough for Aiman who said: “My ultimate target this year is to stay active and keep winning more fights, I’d say around three or four fights this year will put me in a very good position to be fighting in bigger arenas.”
Growing up on the influences of the late Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez and Arturo Gatti, Aiman is convinced boxing is more than just an ordinary sport.
“It’s about pride and honour, the only sport in the world that has the ability to produce cultural icons that made me want to be a professional boxer and bring hope and pride to the country.”
Aiman isn’t sure of where boxing will lead him next, or even when his next fight is, but what he knows for certain is that during his downtime, he is manager to musician and elder brother, Ariff.
“Ariff is an alternative indie freak folk singer who is based in the UK and his songs from his upcoming album ‘Blue Skeleton’ was featured on BBC plus played in the OXjam Festival.”
Aiman is currently in the Philippines, training out of JMC Boxing Gum, as he anticipates his next fight which should be scheduled around next month.