A boxer who opted against pursuing an Olympic place with Team GB says the choice is paying off after successful the first skilled title of his profession.
Aaron Bowen, who won Commonwealth Games bronze in Birmingham in 2022, claimed the Midlands super-middleweight belt with a unanimous factors victory over Klinton Baptiste in Birmingham.
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The 27-year-old said the win marked another step towards his ambition of turning into a world champion.
“It’s my first belt as a professional and that will be with me for life now, no-one can ever take that away from me,” he said.
Bowen secured the British Boxing Board of Control’s Midlands title at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena in just his ninth skilled bout.
The Coventry fighter turned skilled after the Commonwealth Games rather than competing for a place in Team GB’s Olympic squad, despite admitting he had dreamed of preventing on the sport’s greatest newbie stage.
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“There were a lot of us going for that one spot and I just thought, ‘strike while the iron’s hot’,” he said.
“I had the opportunity to turn professional and reach my goal of becoming a world champion.”
Bowen (proper) won his first title belt in his ninth skilled combat with a unanimous choice [PA/ Nick Potts]
Bowen said another issue in his choice was catching the eye of main promoter Eddie Hearn during the Games in Birmingham.
“He’d watched the fight, luckily it was in Birmingham, and he’d seen probably 1,000 Coventry supporters watching me win the bronze medal,” he said.
“The noise was electric.”
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Despite a profitable newbie profession, Bowen described successful his first skilled title as a surreal second.
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“I think it’s so nice now and no-one can take this. Whatever happens now, I’ve always been a Midlands champion,” he said.
“I want so much more but it’s just a nice, proud feeling that a younger me would be proud of right now.”
The next step on Bowen’s path towards a world title is a shot at the England championship, with British, Commonwealth and European honours doubtless to comply with if he continues his unbeaten rise through the ranks.
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