Eventually, he chose to participate in the games and had been off to a good start. He was able to reach the semis after defeating Samie Suon of Cambodia after receiving an early bye in the preliminaries. His golden dream, however, was cut short after Tanes Ongjuta of Thailand out-pointed him in the semis, and he had to settle for his third consecutive bronze.
“I initially wanted to turn pro two years ago, but because there was the dilemma if I should go pro or try one more time for SEA Games which was in Singapore and try get the gold,” Ridhwan told Tiebreaker Times in retrospect.
Things may not have gone as planned back then, but all the 28-year-old pugilist’s training has not been not put in vain. Eight months after the Games, he made a good account of himself in his first bout as a pro, winning not only the fight but also the adulation of the fans against Melchor Roda in Cebu few weeks ago.
“It feels super amazing to win. The transition from the amateur style to pro style of boxing takes some time to getting used to and I understand that better now. I’m happy but not contented and (I) am already back to training making my strengths better and correcting my weaknesses.” He said.
“Amateur boxing helped me in a way of course. Especially in overseas tournaments, we don’t know who our opponent can be so I learn to expect the unexpected, adapt/ adjust accordingly in a fight and I’ve fought boxers with many different styles. That definitely helps in terms of experience.”
Having had the chance to debut at the Singapore Fighting Championships back home, he instead chose to pack his bags and fly to Cebu when he got the offer to fight in the Pinoy Pride 35 card through one of his coaches and former ALA fighter, Rey Caitom, who is now based in Singapore.
“The week before Pinoy Pride, there was the Singapore Fighting Championships 2 which featured pro boxing and MMA bouts. I was offered to fight in that event. But also, Rey was able to get me a fight in the Philippines.”
“I knew it was a greater challenge to begin overseas. But I love challenges so I decided to train at ALA Gym for about two and a half months, and then fight in Pinoy Pride. And I know I needed the experience of training and competing in such a great event like Pinoy Pride to take me to the next level.”
“The audience was happy, I believe. They were cheering for both of us and even after I won their favourite, they were very supportive of me. They came up to me and said how much they like the action, took some photos and it was a crazy amazing experience.”
