Dubai: Boxing may be a religion in the Philippines thanks to Manny Pacquiao, but it is unlikely many would have heard of the person who is one of the ‘quickest’ boxers to win a world championship belt after just seven professional fights and whom Pacquiao’s trainee Freddie Roach worked with first in his stable before turning his attention to his more famous ward when they trained together.
The first Filipina boxer to win the women’s WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight World Championships, Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton will be in Dubai in August looking for her second win in her mixed martial arts career, having signed up with ONE FC, thus marking her first step towards becoming a two-sport champion. And in an exclusive interview to XPRESS, the 34-year-old Filipino-American talks about her career and why she gave up a successful stint in boxing and moved to mixed martial arts. Excerpts…
1. Why did you switch to MMA after such a successful pro career in boxing?
I have practiced Martial Arts since childhood. In fact, I was introduced to boxing from my martial arts teacher. I am currently open to compete in both MMA and boxing and proud to be a 2-fight sport athlete. I have been a fan of ONE FC and was in contact with CEO, Victor Cui, over the years. I appreciated how Victor Cui was pushing MMA in Asia and how quickly it became one of the biggest MMA companies in the world. It takes tremendous heart, a passionate vision, and an extraordinary team to make that happen. It's impressive.
When ONE FC offered me an exclusive MMA deal and have the ability to pursue boxing at the same time, I jumped at the opportunity. ONE FC has a billion outreach with 90% market share in all of Asia and provides one of the biggest stages in the world. The ultimate goal of any fighter is to fight and to fight with massive exposure.
2. How much of an inspiration was Manny Pacquiao given both of you trained under Freddie Roach?
Manny and I were always in the gym together. Coach Freddie Roach would work with me before he worked with Manny, which reinforced the concepts Roach was teaching me. I was fortunate to watch and learn at the highest level from Manny Pacquiao and Coach Roach during the first 6 years of my professional boxing career. I'm proud to say winning my 3rd World Championship with Freddie Roach is one of the highlights of my Boxing career (the WBO 122lbs Title in Canada June 2010). He talked about how I was his 28th World Champion on an ESPN THE MAGAZINE interview a few years ago. It's an honor to be included in a list of names in his roster of fighters like Manny Pacquiao and other Legends of Boxing.
Also, Coach Roach treated me no different than his male fighters. He believed that if an individual chooses to box, that person would have to deal with all aspects of the sport--the hard work, dedication, and pain. Manny Pacquiao has always been a great role model and encouraged me to train hard and to always remember my heritage. That experience taught me the mindset of a world class fighter. Everything I do in life will reflect what I do in the ring and that idea went hand in hand with my martial arts discipline. It was a lifetime experience.
3. You are a super bantamweight world champion and also have black belts in Bok Fu and Taekwondo. What do you intend to achieve in MMA?
The martial arts have taught me that I will always have a fighting chance despite the circumstances and have found success in boxing and in life. In MMA, I want to continue to be humble, keep honing my skills and create new ones, and to eventually become the first Filipina ONE FC Champion! To achieve a feat like this (becoming the only Fighter to hold World Championships in Both Boxing and MMA), especially with the Authentic rule set in ONE FC, would be the Ultimate Pinnacle as a True Fighter in Combat Sports.
4. How would you assess your chances in the One FC fight against Ann Osman in Dubai? Have you been to Dubai before?
One FC 19 will be my first time in Dubai and I'm looking forward to it. I've heard many positive things about Dubai and UAE. I have friends who have visited Dubai and have shared wonderful stories. I'm excited to travel there.
I originally was supposed to fight a different opponent for this event but in the combat sports, a fighter must be ready for anything. I've been working hard for a very, very long time and I look forward to this opportunity. I've fought all over the globe against world class opposition. Earlier in my boxing career, I defeated a Boxing legend in my division USA's Kelsey Jeffries in her Hometown. That night I won my first world title with only 4 wins (my opponent had over 40 wins). I've faced World Title Fights against a Mexican in Mexico, a Canadian in Canada, and an Argentinian in Argentina and gave wars, where even Boxing Hall of Famer, Al Bernstein, would call "Classic fights". At this point in my fight career, it doesn't matter who I match with. It's about me and what I do. Bruce Lee said, "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who practiced one kick 10,000 times." Come Aug. 29th, I'll be ready.
I dedicate this fight to all the fight fans in Dubai, my kababayans there and all over the world. I train to bring my best and showcase exciting fights.
5. As a woman at the top of her game in boxing and martial arts, what kind of hurdles have you faced in getting there? Would you recommend that all women should learn some kind of self-defence techniques?
Yes I do agree that all people Men, Women and Children would benefit from learning the Martial Arts as I did, you can learn so much about yourself through the Arts and of course learning to protect yourself from dangerous situations is always good. But I'm not the type of person to recommend or advise others to do something they would not want to learn. What I can do is share my thoughts and stories:
Combat sports is obviously physically demanding and that's only part of the uphill battle as a woman in a male-dominated environment. A big portion of the "battle" requires mental diligence and resiliency because life as a female fighter gets deeper than that. As a woman fighter, you have to believe in yourself even when people doubt you--those who are in the fight sport industry, strangers, even from people you care about. You must be strong when people/situations try to pull you down while pursuing your goals.
With all the success I've achieved, I've dealt with "being different from the social norm" on top of fighting against my opponents in the ring/cage and it's important to always put things in perspective. I am thankful that the Filipino community all over the world supports and believes in what I stand for. They play a big part of me continuing to do what I do and I carry my supporters with me in my heart every time I'm in the arena.
And the martial arts have taught so much with physical technique and concepts, but the most important lesson was from my martial arts teacher, who eventually became my Head Coach, Angelo Reyes, as he would tell me that everything I learned in the arts can be applied in everyday life. He'd tell me, "If you don't have it yet, it's because you didn't want it bad enough." It's so true. I had to fight for everything I have.
I hope my view as a female fighter will inspire others to believe in themselves and to follow their dreams in life.
