Muay Thai

Vietnamese Trương Cao Minh Phát (left) and Iranian Mostafa Armand in the face off session on November 18 in HCM CIty. Photos of Shadow Entertainment

HCM CITY — Trương Cao Minh Phát has set his own target to win the world belt on home ground when he faces Iranian Mostafa Armand in the WBC Muay Thai World Title Fight event on November 19 in HCM City.

The event, entitled Muay Thai Rampage (MTR): Call of Honor, will be organised for the first time in Việt Nam featuring strong local and international martial artists at the Saigon Sports Club.

Phát vs Armand is the main bout, fighting for the men's super-featherweight (59kg) title.

Phát, world No 8, is the WBC Muay Thai International champion. He won silver at the 31st SEA Games and bronze at the 32nd Games. He has recorded nine wins and one loss in his Muay Thai pro career.

Armand is the world top 10, recording 30 wins and eight losses. He is an active fighter in many competitions around the world, especially in Thailand, home of Muay Thai.

At a press briefing on November 18, Phát said he prepared really well for the historical bout and is determined to beat the Iranian rival to take the honour for himself and Việt Nam.

Arriving in the Southeast Asian country for the first time days ago, Armand was confident of a win and confirmed that after two months of spending all his effort and mind in training hard for the match, he would definitely win and bring the belt home.

The WBC Muay Thai World belt is displayed at the face off event.

The co-main card of the event is a WBC Muay Thai International title between Huỳnh Hoàng Phi, the WBC Muay Thai Việt Nam champion, and Amghari Ayoub of Morocco in the men's bantamweight (54kg).

World No 8 Phi said he researched his world No 3 really carefully and took time to spar with coaches to bring into play his strong points while limiting Ayoub's capacity. 

He said it would be exciting to lift the WBC Muay Thai International's belt on home ground.

Ayoud on the other hand did not watch any of Phi's clip. He instead focused on perfecting his technique. He believed that if he could bring into play his power and with his family's support he would defeat the host fighter.

The briefing also featured 20 fighters who will take part in the MTR: Call of Honor which is the third event of the Muay Thai Rampage, the first professional Muay Thai series held in Việt Nam.

The Muay Thai Rampage: Call of Honor will feature 12 matches of 24 local and international fighters.

“Pro tournaments like Muay Thai Rampage will help elevate Vietnamese fighters' level. Our competitors will be able to sharpen their skills against rivals around the world," said Nguyễn Phú Hiển, representative of the HCM City Muay Thai and Kickboxing Federation.

"Hopefully in the future more professional events like this will be organised to create more opportunities for Vietnamese," he said.

Attending the press briefing, coach and fighter Nguyễn Kế Nhơn, the first Vietnamese WBC International Muay Thai title-holder, said: "All Vietnamese people and I believed that Phát, Phi and other fighters will compete with all their best to show the world the strength and potential of Vietnamese martial artists.”

Muay Thai Rampage is organised by Shadow Entertainment, national leading company operating in the field of managing and training professional boxers and martial artists and organising sporting events. VNS