Boxing

WBA Asia champion Lê Hữu Toàn of Việt Nam (left) will compete on October 1 in HCM City. — Photo from Lê Hữu Toàn facebook

HÀ NỘI — WBA Asia champions Trương Đình Hoàng and Lê Hữu Toàn of Việt Nam will compete at 'LEAD: The Beginning' on October 1 in HCM City.

According to the organisers, Shadow Entertainment, this is the first of a series of professional events held monthly in Việt Nam.

LEAD: The Beginning will gather the top 28 boxing athletes of Việt Nam and Asia at the Saigon Sports Club, where they will battle it out for six to eight rounds in the ring.

World Boxing Association (WBA) Asia minimum-weight champion Toàn will face Indonesian Silem Serang, the Universal Boxing Organisation champion in the 49kg category. This is one of two key matches of the night.

"This is my first official pro match in six months, marking my return to the ring after I won my WBA Asia belt in March," Toàn told Việt Nam News.

"My opponent is reigning champion of the UBO and Indonesia, meaning he is very strong, technical and experienced. He has competed much more than me, so I have to train hard and prepare very carefully for this match," he said.

Toàn, currently world No 9, said the match would be an important warm-up for him to defend his title.

"The coaching board and I will research Serang and discuss a suitable tactic to take him down. I am now under a strict training programme to make sure I win in October," he said.

Toàn, 29, has taken part in four professional bouts so far. He secured all four wins, two via knock-out.

Serang, 32, has had 44 bouts. His record is 18 wins (2 KOs), three draws and 23 losses (12 KOs).

A poster for LEAD: The Begining, which will gather Việt Nam and Asia top boxers on October 1 in HCM City.

The other match of the day is between 'The King' Trương Đình Hoàng and Robert Kopa, Indonesia's No 1 middleweight.

This is also the first pro match of the WBA Asia super middleweight champion Hoàng since he successfully defended the title in 2020.

Hoàng also participated in the 31st SEA Games' amateur boxing in Hà Nội with the hope of winning a gold medal, but he could only take a bronze.

While Hoàng, 32, experienced only two pro matches, winning both by KO, in his two-year career. Kopa has been boxing for 14 years. The 38-year-old recorded 14 wins (4 KOs), three draws and 11 losses (5 KOs).

Also taking the ring this time are Vietnamese Nguyễn Ngọc Hải vs Indonesian Sonny Manakane in the 66kg class; Võ Hồng Đạt (Việt Nam) vs Alvius Maufani (Indonesia) in the 63kg pool; Trịnh Thế Long (Việt Nam) vs Ibrahim Aroby (Indonesia) in the 70kg bout, and Arvin Jhon Paciones (Philippines) vs Sulis Barrera (Indonesia) in the 50kg discipline among other matches. — VNS