SINGAPORE: He had taken more punches than he would have liked, in a fight that went the distance. But it was one that Muhamad Ridhwan Ahmad ultimately won — with one good hand.
But he is fighting for his dreams, trading blows as a pugilist while taking chances as the co-owner of a boxing gym, a business borne out of his love for boxing and desire to take the sport further in Singapore. Despite the slide, his belief that “boxing is something can be really, really good at” has not wavered. Nor has his love for the sport.It was not exactly love at first sight, however, when he was introduced to boxing as a 16-year-old. He was a cook in a kitchen where his older colleagues were “always talking about boxing”.
“I didn’t see much sparring back then. And it didn’t feel the sport was going anywhere,” he recalled.On the day he was going to dump his boxing gloves, his coach told him there was an opportunity to fight two months later, in a local tournament. “I’ve travelled to Sri Lanka, Australia and many other countries to compete and to experience the coaching levels. And I realised that in Singapore, we do have a lot of talent, but we don’t have the knowledge,” he explained.
“That you have to be undefeated, I think, is overrated already. I think what matters more, what’s more courageous, is if you’ve lost and you can come back … until you reach your goals.”In the end, losing his title fight against Namibian boxer Paulus Ambunda was not as “painful” as seeing people in his team leave — “people who I thought would be with me till the very end because they said they would”.
He has since sought out a legal team to get the S$15,000 owed to him and to “find the best solution … a middle ground”. “ must benefit the community. It must benefit the well-being of the people. That’s why our rates are … competitive, even though we’re in the Central Business District ,” he said. Through hard work and perseverance, Legends Fight Sport became profitable within a year. But the gym soon faced competition from fitness centres that started offering boxing classes.
But committing to training of the highest standards while competing for international titles in the ring can be “very tiring”.