Born and raised in London, Michele Aboro is one of the undisputed greats of female boxing. Throughout her 7-year professional career, Aboro maintained a spectacular record of 21 wins with 12 knockout victories. She entered the boxing ring in 1995 after winning three world titles in kickboxing, twice in K1, and went on to become a two-time Women's International Boxing Federation World Super Bantamweight champion. She is among a handful of others in boxing history to retire as an undefeated world champion.

Since moving to Shanghai in 2010, Aboro has redirected her energy to training and opened a gym, Aboro Academy. She has been working on developing a unique training system that focuses on both the mental and physical aspects of boxing.

Michele Aboro talks to a Shanghai audience about her life and career at a recently held event. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Love for combat sport

Aboro recalls being interested in combat sports as a little girl growing up in London in the 1970s when women were legally prohibited from participating in boxing. Because she could not box, she took up kickboxing but secretly trained in boxing as a means to get an edge over kickboxing opponents.

Aboro now practices many types of combat sports, from Dutch kickboxing to judo and karate.

"To me, combat sport is like a chess game. It's about out-smarting your opponent, it's not about strength. It's about accuracy and technique," Aboro told the Global Times.

She explained that in order to win a fight, one has to learn from the opponent, acquire their better technique and take advantage of it.

"In a game, what I need to do is to think of a way to take away their weapon and make it my weapon. This is what I love about combat sport, is the way that you actually balance your mind and body," Aboro said.

Aboro believes that participating in a sport like boxing can make people more confident and understand how to show their strength in a smart way.

In addition to these mental benefits, there are also physical benefits. "You'll be looking better and have a good figure. You will have a body that lasts, a body that will not deteriorate after you are failing," Aboro said.

"Your body has to last for 80 years. Why not give your body the training and take care of your body like you have an education. I think any kind of sport will help you to have a healthy life," she added.

Aboro speaks from experience. In March 2012, she was diagnosed with cancer. "If I didn't look after my body, I wouldn't have recovered as quickly as I have right now. They said I would never be able to use this arm again. Now I do push-ups. The sport that I have done saved me and my life," she added.

Breaking barriers

Female participation in boxing has many advantages, according to Aboro. The only disadvantage is the pay.

"If you are a female boxer, you get paid less than male boxers. It's not just in sport. It's still a male-dominated society," she said.

When Aboro began to make a name for herself in boxing, she noticed that the media would say to her: "For a woman, you box very well. The way you box is like a man." "This is when I started thinking, should there be a difference? I am a boxer. I shouldn't be put into a box for who I am by gender," she said.

Aboro held to the conviction that if she was able to do her job at a level that a man could do, she should be treated with the same respect and be paid the same too. "It won't happen in my lifetime, but I think in the future, they will be paid for what they do as females the same as the males," she said.

Aboro added that she feels very lucky that she had trainers that were open-minded and didn't consider people's gender. "Each individual needs to try to stand up for him or herself because no one else will do it for you. You've got to start believing in yourself and the possibilities of what you can achieve in your life because you have only got this one lifetime. You have to achieve as much as you can," she said.

Continuation in Shanghai

Aboro moved to China to open a gym. She chose Shanghai for its dynamism and friendly people. "Since I came here, I have had nothing but positive interactions with local Chinese people and overseas Chinese people. For me, the question is why wouldn't I be here?"

At her gym, Aboro Academy located on Changhua Road, she wants members to feel like they are part of a family of supporting people who are there to help you improve. It's the combination of her special talents to motivate an individual and a group as well as her mastery of sport and fitness that have gained Aboro a loyal following in Shanghai.

Her ambition in China is to train the country's first female professional world champion. "This is what I want to accomplish, I want to have a world champion from China," she smiled.