Paulo Aokuso (born 20 May 1997) is an Australian Samoan

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

. He competed in the men's light heavyweight event at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. In the Round of 16 in the light heavyweight bracket Aokuso lost narrowly on points to Spain's Gazimagomed Jalidov. His Younger brother, Austin Aokuso is also a professional boxer competing in the Cruiserweight division & the current WBC Asian Silver Champion with a record of 5-0.

Early years

Aokuso comes from Mount Druitt in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's west. He came from a family of sportsmen and women and showed sporting potential from an early age. Aokuso was a competent shot put and discus thrower in his teenage years before trying boxing in 2013 as a 16-year-old. His sister Filoi Aokuso took the silver medal in discus at the 2014 Australian Under-20s Championships and earned a place in the World Junior Championships in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Aokuso has much support from his family and his mother, Nessie, would spar with him. He joined the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Academy of Boxing in 2014.

Achievements

His time at the Queensland Academy of Boxing was well spent and Aokuso became a dedicated boxer. He participated in the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifying event in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

, Jordan in March 2020. Aokosu unanimously defeated Vietnam's Manh Nguyen to lock in a tournament semi-final berth. Aokuso then beat 2019 World Championship silver medallist Dilshod Ruzmetov from

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

and earned a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Personal life

Aokuso is the uncle of NRL Sydney Roosters player

Joseph Sua'ali'i Joseph Sua'ali'i ( ) (born 1 August 2003) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL. Described as a teen prodigy, Sua'ali'i received significant media attention during contract nego ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aokuso, Paulo 1997 births Living people Australian sportspeople of Samoan descent Australian male boxers Olympic boxers for Australia Boxers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Boxers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales