A boxer who opted against pursuing an Olympic place with Team GB says the decision is paying off after winning the first professional title of his career.
Aaron Bowen, who won Commonwealth Games bronze in Birmingham in 2022, claimed the Midlands super-middleweight belt with a unanimous points victory over Klinton Baptiste in Birmingham.
The 27-year-old said the win marked another step towards his ambition of becoming 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 professional bout.
The Coventry fighter turned professional after the Commonwealth Games rather than competing for a place in Team GB’s Olympic squad, despite admitting he had dreamed of fighting on the sport’s biggest amateur stage.
“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.”