Aung La N Sang Honored With Statue In Myanmar
A bronze statue of “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang has been made in Myanmar to honor the two-division ONE World Champion.
The reigning middleweight and light heavyweight titleholder attended a ceremony to mark the official unveiling of the sculpture at Kachin National Manau Park in his hometown of Myitkyina on Sunday, 16 December.
Thousands of fans turned out to support the 33-year-old national hero.
After addressing the crowd, “The Burmese Python” admitted he was initially apprehensive of being immortalized in this way.
Writing in English, Burmese, and the Kachin language of Jingpho, he explained on his social media channels that he was “shocked and totally against it” at first, but he later came round to the idea because of what it represents.
“I am just coming to the prime of my career and don’t want any more added pressure. I was also worried about the hate that would come out of people who disagreed with building this statue,” he said.
“But this is not about me. It’s a reminder for all the boys and girls born in Dukatawng or anywhere else in Myanmar that they too can become a World Champion or whatever they set their heart and mind into becoming.
“I know I have a lot of faults and may let many people down in the future. So don’t look up to me, just use me as an example that even from a very humble upbringing with hard work, grit, and God’s grace our hard work will be blessed.”
“The Burmese Python” last competed at ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS in October at Yangon’s Thuwunna Indoor Stadium, where he defeated Lebanese contender Mohammad Karaki with a first-round TKO to defend his ONE Middleweight World Title.
The win took Aung La N Sang’s career record to 24-10 (1 NC) and extended his winning streak to five bouts, which began when he took the middleweight crown from Vitaly Bigdash in June 2017.
“The Burmese Python” is expected to return to action and defend one of his belts in early 2019.
