PETALING JAYA, April 28 — It is the first time in 43 years boxing has got Malaysians or their feet again.
Only it’s not just eight-division world champ Manny Pacquiao facing Lucas Matthysse at Axiata Arena on July 15 that has stirred excitement.
There’s growing curiosity in a homegrown fighter currently unbeaten and hitting through the ranks in Pacquiao’s native Philippines.
His name is Aiman AB (Abu Bakar), level-headed featherweight who quit the prospect of a career in football in favour of a life in leather-cushioned gloves.
To the onlookers in Petaling Jaya, Aiman doesn’t look like much. Clearly athletic, if not a bit thin, it’s hard to imagine that this is a boxer likened to a wild animal when he steps in the ring.
He almost laughs when I ask was he a tough kid in school.
“No, I don’t get involved in fights. I just like to challenge myself, that’s it,” said the driven 26-year-old, born in Selangor and raised in Negeri Sembilan.
“I always loved boxing but there was no outlet for me growing up. Football kept me occupied at school (Sri KL). But in between, my friends and I would have ‘training’ sessions on lunch breaks. We’d hold a mini fight series in the toilets.”
Aiman began considering his options at 18. Fortunately he had two callings to choose from and wasn’t torn between either.
The journey started when he signed a professional contract with Negeri Sembilan football club where he played as a striker in the U21’s side.
In the meantime however, much to the displeasure of his coaches, he was amateur boxing, mostly against lads in the military for whom organised boxing is usually limited to in Malaysia.
“After training sessions, I knew football wasn’t what I wanted to do.
“My coaches would tell me ‘Aiman, you’re under professional contract, you can’t be doing other sports.”
“That’s when I picked boxing.”
The discipline became his first love much younger in life courtesy of his mother, a Muhammad Ali fan, as well as watching Rocky movies by the age of seven.
Fighters like Roberto Duran and Julio Cesar Chavez captured his interest — “I see boxers as heroes,” he said.
“Boxing is a lifestyle,” he added of its enduring nature.
“Footballers play week-in and week-out and after their games, they celebrate.
“Boxing you can’t afford to do that. I have to isolate myself when I’m training. There are no rewards. Preparation is key if I’m to give everything.”
Without a platform to progress, Aiman, ambitious, yet reserved and tamely-spoken, headed for the Philippines in 2014.
“Usually fights are behind closed doors in Malaysia and you can train for weeks only to find out a tournament has been cancelled,” he clarified.
“My goal from day one is not to be a standout amateur boxer. I want to be a world champion.
“I told myself I’m going to the Philippines because they’ve produced so many world champions.
“The country is this hornets’ nest before you see Pacquiao or Jerwin Ancajas in Las Vegas — that’s the finished product. The raw talent starts there,” he said.
“I need to be surrounded with these people — live with them, eat with them, train with them — just to see how fighters go from the bottom to champions.”
Aiman wasted no time.
Day one in the Philippines he was invited to spar with former Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation title-holder Jonel Alibio. He landed a body short and hurt the local tough-nut below the rib cage, something of a rarity as the tale goes.
Subsequently he was invited to the “real” gyms of Manila where boxers pushing to make the big time are born. Aiman was recruited to JMC boxing stable soon after.
He registered professional with the Philippines Games and Amusements Board in 2015 and enjoyed his debut win in December that year.
Towards the end of 2016, three wins under his belt, and Aiman’s name is doing the rounds in boxing’s elite circles.
He soon crossed paths with a man who epitomised his dream of rising from nothing to a world-beater. The stock Pinoy, now a Senator, is still considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound punchers of all time.
He would go on to give Aiman his blessing for a six-round bout in Malaysia two years down the road, albeit in a 15,000-capacity stadium as opposed to military grounds.
“Pacquiao was my idol and my coach figured he’d provide inspiration if we met. He was preparing for a fight with Jessie Vargas,” Aiman recalled.
“That was the first time I watched a high-calibre fighter train at the top level. The next day I trained harder than ever before. I saw what I needed to put in my game.”
Fast-forward to February 2018 and with a 7-0 record including three knockouts, Aiman is informed to stop what he’s doing sharpish and get his backside to Shangri-La hotel Manila.
Reps from Vegas, the fighter’s holy grail, had come down to discuss the possibility of him featuring on the undercard when Pac-man faces Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur.
A month later Aiman finds himself in Senator Pacquiao’s office where he is green-lighted to make his Malaysian debut as a pro.
Naturally any fighter would be ecstatic at the news, even if Aiman doesn’t know how to show it.
Instead he’s paid all gratitude to Pacquiao for giving the go-ahead. He also thanked Australian trainer Bobby Mayne who he’s been enthusiastically promoted by on social media following a session together.
There’ll be television cameras, hundreds of thousands of viewers not to mention major promoters keeping a keen eye on the event.
Aiman however, much like his boxing style, remains focussed.
“I see more than speed and power. I don’t want to be the strongest boxer I don’t want to be the fastest — I want to be the smartest.”
