Boxing

Lê Hữu Toàn of Việt Nam (left) and his Chinese rival Zeng Yu Jie at the weigh in. Photo of Lê Hữu Toàn

HÀ NỘI -- Vietnamese champion Lê Hữu Toàn will compete in the WBC Asia Championship on June 23 in Lanzhou, China.

It is his first bout since losing his WBA Asia minimum belt in a 12-round match to Garen Diagan of the Philippines three months ago in HCM City.

Toàn will take on Zeng Yu Jie of China in the sixth eight-round light flyweight (49kg) match of the night.

Toàn has had seven fights, winning six with three knock-outs and one loss.

He is the number one boxer of Việt Nam in the minimum weight (48kg) category. The BoxRec's two-star fighter is No 21 in the world.

Zeng has taken part in 29 matches, recording 16 wins with seven KOs, two draws and 11 losses.

The 27-year-old came to Việt Nam in April and fought Vietnamese Phạm Hữu Thương in a match that ended in draw.

Experienced Zeng has longer reach and is taller than Toàn. He will also receive strong home support.

"Zeng is a strong opponent to me who has had many more pro fights than me," Toàn told Việt Nam News.

"I will fight in a heavier weight class than usual. This is something my coaches planned to help me jump higher in the rankings. In case of winning, I will receive remarkable points for better world position. 

"It is my first match after losing my WBA Asia belt. I have worked hard for the upcoming match. I am comfortable and will fight my best."

The main event will be a WBC Asia continental super feather weight title match between Ju Min Guk of South Korea and Zhang Zhi Gang of China.

Other fights are between Chinese Ziang Qu and Stinky Mario Bunda in the light flyweight class. Filipino Renz Rosia  and host Jiangtao Cao will meet in the super fly weight (51kg) match. Kittisak Boonchaiming of Thailand will face Kehu Huang in the super bantamweight (55kg) pool.

The remaining matches are all-Chinese bouts between Hai Ma vs Nuomin in the super lightweight (63.5kg) and Xiao Yong vs Wei Lu in the feather weight (57kg). VNS