Following a promising amateur career and a breakout performance at the Tokyo Olympics, the Mt Druitt-born fighter seemed destined for great things.
But three years after his professional debut, Aokuso has had just one fight in the past 18 months as he said he was “mistreated and misguided” following a series of disruptions outside the ring.
The super-talented southpaw, nicknamed Sweet P, will return to pay-per-view on the undercard of Liam Paro’s world title eliminator against David Papot in Brisbane on September 18.
It marks a comeback to the big time after a year in the wilderness.
The light-heavyweight prospect says the lowest moment came when he was left nearly broke just before Christmas last year after a string of misfortune and broken promises.
“After my last fight, I had my son’s birthday, I had my Mrs’ birthday and had Christmas,” the 28-year-old tells Code Sports.
“And I had nothing.
“It was just me and my negative bank account.
“I’m actually grateful for those times now, because it made me want it more and work even harder.
“That’s why I laugh at that stuff. Just like when we used to get hidings when we were little, but now we just laugh.”
Worse still, Aokuso had celebrated the birth of his second child just weeks before his most recent bout in November.
“I was actually in hospital for two weeks straight because my missus was giving birth to my second child,” he says. “And this was only four weeks before the fight.
“So I didn’t train, because I was at the hospital.
“Then afterwards, it was just negative. It’s just about enjoying those times and being happy when you have nothing.
“I had my family, my kids, my mum and dad and my siblings. What else do I need?
“That helped me a lot.”
Aokuso was one of the hottest prospects in Australian boxing after his impressive performance at the Tokyo Olympics, and had five professional fights in 15 months under the No Limit banner.
In mid-2023, he split with No Limit to go his own way, before changing teams for a second time last year.
It was then that he realised he was heading in the wrong direction.
“I don’t like to badmouth too many people, but I’ll just say I’ve been mistreated and misguided by people,” he says. “It is what it is.
“I’ve known for a long time that everyone in boxing just cares about the paycheck, and no one really cares about what’s best for the fighter.
“I’m just grateful to be with a good team now. I’ve got my management Cash Flow, and my trainers, Pad Flow and they’ve been looking after me.”
Aokuso re-signed with No Limit earlier this year, and will make his long awaited return to PPV boxing next week.
Despite all the ups and downs, he says he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’m actually grateful,” he says. “It’s just about making the right moves in boxing.
“You’ve just gotta have a good, strong team, and if you don’t have a strong team, you will fall.
“And that’s what happened to me.”
Now through the worst moments, Aokuso is preparing to fight late-notice Uzbek knockout artist Shukhrat Abdullaev on September 18 at Pat Rafter Arena.
Abudllaev is 5-0 and steps in for Atlanta-based fighter Casey Dixon, who had visa issues after spending time in prison, where he taught fellow inmates – including rap superstar Meek Mill – how to box.
For Aokuso, that’s all just noise as he prepares for his comeback.
“I want to get one more in before the end of the year and I just want to grind and train,” he says. “I’ve got a tougher opponent now, he’s number one in Uzbekistan, and I just want to be known as one of those fighters who love taking the hard fights.
“I want everyone to say, ‘There’s this one guy in Australia that takes every fight, and that’s Sweet P’.
“I just want everyone to see me as someone who just fights the best of the best.”