Geez..., it seems like a lifetime ago especially with the COVID pandemic raging across the globe. This photo is going to make it to the history book one day when people look back and ask "Hey, when did professional boxing start in Vietnam?" My business partner is a punter who successfully runs a billion dollar betting business in Australia and he immediately recognized the talents of some Vietnamese boxers from a small boxing event I had arranged 4 months earlier. He had this crazy idea of bringing in talented boxers from Australia to Vietnam to put this opinion to the test. Vietnamese boxers were all amateurs and had not fought professional boxing. He was of the opinion that Vietnamese boxers would put up a good fight while the Australian coach laughed and predicted 100% win by the Australian team with 60% KO rate. 8 boxers were flown in from Australia and the event was on.  The event was done as an exhibition fight that allowed amateur boxers to be matched against professional boxers. As the event went on, one Aussie boxer after another exited the ring in disbelief that an amateur would beat him.  Final score was 5 wins to the Vietnamese team out of 8 fights that evening.  Can't believe me?  Check out the full fight videos on our YouTube channel.  

Now it begs the question, how did Vietnamese boxers perform so well against good pros? Vietnam is not really known for professional boxing. There are several factors that I think resulted in such outcome. The organizer deliberately kept the rounds at 4 rounds for each bout. This is actually a huge advantage to the amateur boxers who are used to the 3 rounds format under amateur rules. (If you are not familiar with the difference between "Amateur Boxing vs Professional Boxing, check out our blog on this and you will definitely have a better understanding on which boxer is winning and why.)  Anyway, back to the topic! Another factor is that the Australian boxers definitely underestimated their opponents and did not really prepare as hard as they otherwise would have.  In addition, the weather (the heat and the humidity) is not something boxers from Sydney were used to and this became even harder for them in the ring as multiple halogen spot lights raised the temperature to above 33C. Last but least, it's the psychological aspect of the match up. There must have been a pressure on the professional boxer to win the fight and when they felt being outscored by the Vietnamese amateur boxer in the first 2 rounds, a thought would probably go through "damn....it's only 4 rounds and I am already down on 2.....I gotta do something!"  This would push the pro boxers to take more risk by being the aggressor but it also means they become more vulnerable to counter punches and making mistakes that could be exploited by the Vietnamese boxers.  

One thing that really stood out was how tough the Vietnamese boxers were.  I am not talking about the physical toughness which all boxers had that night but the grit, the heart, and not being afraid at all about fighting professional boxers. Boxing is a mental sport as much as it is a physical sport and this traits by the Vietnamese boxers show bright hope for the future of professional boxing in Vietnam. For the next Victory8, we said we would bring even tougher fighters from overseas to go against the Viets!

World team fighter and Vietnam nemesis Jye Lane Taylor returns to the ring at the Star Centre in Sydney tonight.

It is the first time the "Fast Lane" has being sighted since June this year, when he knocked out Aussie Paul Roberts in impressive fashion.

Boxing fans will remember Victory8 Hanoi 2019, where Jye Lane Taylor put on a clinic against quality Vietnam team member Pham Duc Doan. Jye is one of the best prospects in Australian boxing, and everyone at VSP is wishing him lots of luck in tonight's battle with Manuer Matet.

Richard "the Beast" Pumicpic looks to ramp things up this coming March, after a quiet but successful 2021. Pumicpic stopped excellent local fighter Landy Cris Leon in May, and Leon subsequently had a win over Jhunriel Ramonal, consolidating the merit of the victory.

The Beast then travelled to the United States, and incurred a narrow loss at the hands of world top 20 Abraham Nova. Pumicpic had the hotshot Nova wobbled at various stages of the match, and no doubt this was a bout within the pinoy's grasp had it been taken on greater notice.

Richard the BEAST Pumicpic returns revamped in March 2022 and makes this simple pledge :

"YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET! "

The handsome Philippines boxer is no other than "Mr. Heartthrob" Claude Van Sese here in Hanoi with the Vietnamese beauties. Sese came to Vietnam to participate in the famous Victory8 boxing event organized by VSP Boxing on Oct 19, 2019.  The event drew over 25,000 spectators and over 50million views on social media. Sese faced Nguyen Van Gioi who is probably one of the best boxers in Vietnam who possesses speed and good ring strategy. You can catch all the action at VSP Promotions' YouTube Channel.

Boxing fans have had a frustrating wait, and for Virgel Vitor, it must seem like an eternity! The outstanding Bohol prodigy hasn't laced up the gloves since 2019, when he won by impressive KO as undercard to Mark Magsayo. But the big news breaking is that Vitor is set to make a return to the ring before the end of this year! It is expected that Virgel Vitor will join with a line up of pinoy boxing stars in what is shaping as the best fight card seen in recent years.

"Valiente" is one of the hottest prospects in the Philippines, having notched up 15 quick wins in a short career. Vitor was also selected to compete in the "World Team" at Victory 8 in Hanoi in 2019, along with Charly Suarez, Jenel Lausa and Claudevan Sese.

So, you are watching a boxing match and it is clear that Boxer A is getting his faced punched in by the Boxer B.  After many rounds, the final bell rings and you are 100% certain that the Boxer B had won the fight but suddenly judges award the win to the Boxer A and you are left thinking "what just happened?".  This post will shed some light as to how this could easily happen.

At VSP, we have our own boxing gym (VSP Boxing) where boxers under company management are trained for professional matches.  We also have our own boxing promotions company (VSP Promotions).  We even have our own boxing event brand called Victory8.  What I am about to tell you is something which happens behind the curtains that may help you understand why some boxing matches end up favoring a boxer who you are quite sure lost the match.

To fully understand what happens, you need to put yourself in the shoe of the Boxer and his/her manager. the manager generally thinks that if the boxer has an "unbeaten" record, it will help him go up the rank.  This achieves two objectives.  It can lead to the manager asking more money for the boxer to fight from the promoter.  Secondly, the manager is hoping that a streak of victorious matches will allow the boxer to fight for the championship title which can be quite lucrative.  Depending on the country/region, a regional championship title can earn 5~10,000 USD while world title can be anywhere from 50,000~1,000,000 dollars earning per fight depending on many factors which I will post another time.  So, if you are the manager for the boxer, you would think your job is to try to get the boxer to fight an opponent whom you are quite confident can be beaten.  (This often leads to a terrible quality fight because it is lopsided match).

Promoter (that's us) is the company that organizes and pays for everything and everyone.  Here, "everyone" includes the boxers, referees, and the judges.  Now, what happens when boxers are managed by a company instead of an individual? And what if that company happens to also be the "Promoter" of an event in which those boxers fight?  

Let's think about a situation whereVSP has organized a boxing event in Vietnam between our Vietnamese fighters and Thai fighters. To make the scoring "fair", VSP flies in referees & judges (R&J) from Japan, China, and the Philippines.  The promoter would be paying for their flight tickets, their fees, hotel, meals, as well as transportation.  Lobbying can start even before the R&J arrive in Vietnam.  

How about this: The promoter upgrades the flights of R&J to a business class and personally picks them up from the airport.  The promoter then put them in a nice hotel with complementary drinks and takes them out to good restaurants.  There, he talks about how wonderful some of the boxers are in the event (our boxers of course).  The promoter never once said who the judges should vote for but as you can see, the R&J may have started to develop a certain bias.

Did you know that R&J are often part time jobs for many? Imagine you are one of the judges invited to come to Vietnam.  You are treated very well, paid well, and even taken around by the promoter for shopping.  You know that some of the boxers in the event are managed by the promoter.  Now, let's say the fight was a close fight, who would you favor?  If you voted against the promoter's boxer, maybe you won't be invited in the next event.  Perhaps your professionalism would be so solid that none of these treatments would affect your judgement but would you be able to say the same for all of your peers?

At VSP, we don't believe in setting up our boxers to win in a match. How would a boxer improve if he is fighting an opponent worse than him all the time? We think this is a remanent of the old ways. Instead, we match our fighters such that the spectators would enjoy watching!  What is the point of putting up boring shit fights that nobody wants to watch?  We tell all our boxers, "It is not our job to make you win.  It is our job to give you worthy challengers that will push yourself to be better" The boxing world need to change and embrace a new paradigm where the focus should be putting up fights that are 50:50 and that leads to exciting fights that viewers can appreciate and thus drive more following.  

Let's change the old ways and make Boxing Great Again!

"The Cobra" set to strike hard in early 2022 ! Southpaw stealth and savagery !

WBA Asia title

Charly Suarez v Roldan Aldea

Watch your step!

Michael Pengue has been a regular fixture at VSP and Victory8 events in Vietnam. The Aussie boxer was outstanding in his performances for the World team, so it gave us all at VSP a lot of gratification and pride when Pengue raised the WBC Australasian belt recently.

Mickey Pengue had way too few opportunities to showcase his skills since 2019, but his WBC win was a really staunch reminder of what this talented fighter is capable of when in form. Jorge Kapeen proved to be a quality opponent, and he was the measuring stick that qualified it was a great return for Pengue to grind out an emphatic unanimous win.

Pengue, who is trained by Tony Del Vecchio at the world famous Bondi Boxing Club, will now take a well earned break, before setting sights on some bigger opportunities in 2022.

Vietnam's Nguyen Van Hai makes a dream come true for the rugged and too hard to tame pinoy Jino Rodrigo, who makes this special request:

"I WANT A VIETNAM FIGHTER!"

The King's Warrior Charly Suarez does more of the "Walk the Walk" when he tackles the outstanding Roldan Aldea for the WBA Asia title. Suarez has been on a rampaging path up the world rankings, and the non believers are becoming quieter and quieter!  Be in zero doubt, SUAREZ is the Philippines BEST FIGHTER, so don't miss the chance to see an icon of the sport this March in Manila.

"The Rock" returned in ominous fashion scoring a stoppage with some thundering overhands at the Ultimate Knockout Challenge. Al Toyogan competed at 135, and while short in stature at that weight class, he certainly proved big on ability and POWER! It's worth remembering that Toyogan went the distance with world rated Jorge Linares only three fights ago, so he definitely lacks nothing in the class department.

This fighter has lots of upside, especially if he can drop to 130 in future bouts.

Bohol's Virgel Vitor and Palawan's Lorence Rosas' clash was high quality, and both boys signalled better things to come in the very near future.

Vitor put everyone on notice that he is one of the Philippines best young prospects with a superb welcome back performance. His work rate was high, and he was always asserting himself to create opportunities. He also looked way more imposing at this new weight of 130 pounds.

Southpaw Lorence Rosas looks to be rapidly returning to the fighter that gave Magic Mike Plania night tremors back in 2016. His classy performance against the bigger Vitor showcased an array of shots, combined with clever footwork and angles. Expect to see a breakout performance from Rosas when he returns to the lighter weight classes. Don't say you weren't told!

Lorenz Ladrada closes out the year having just engaged in a closely contested battle with the irrepressible Jason Buenaobra. The year proved busy for Bukidnon's Ladrada, who chalked up 4 wins and an SD loss to the promising Gary Tamayo. Flair and footwork were his travelling companions, and in 2022, expect to see more improvements to his repertoire.

Buenaobra was a revelation! He really toiled throughout this match, constantly taking Ladrada out of his comfort zone. He did such a great job, this smart southpaw was able to keep Ladrada on the backfoot for much of their quality bout. The effort of Jason Buenaobra was top class, and excited to see what he can deliver in 2022, especially if he drops to a more suitable weight class.

Another great pic from our friend Alvin Go!

Jason "Manefisto" Buenaobra brought the heat, and some nice technical tools to go with it, in a superb match up with Bukidnon's Lorenz Ladrada at UKC. Buenaobra pressed dangerously for all six rounds, and presented lots of problems for Ladrada from a constantly pivoting southpaw stance. It was an energetic display by Buenaobra, and one that fell just short on a hard to score bout. This was a great showing by Manefisto, who looks certain ask serious questions of rivals in future fights.

Vietnamese lightweight Nguyen Van Hai (2-0, 1 KO) has been challenged to fight dangerous Pinoy “The Silent Beast” Jino Rodrigo of Antipolo, Rizal in March; and the tough challenge has been accepted, said VSP Boxing Promotions earlier today.

The fight will fire up the ring as part of an exciting event in March in Manila, headlined by unbeaten hard-hitting Davaeño super featherweight “King’s Warrior” Charly Suarez (9-0, 6 KO’s). The Vietnamese 135-pounder Nguyen Van Hai has long been regarded as a excellent, experienced amateur fighter, although he hasn’t seen any action at all in 30 long months. Still, Hai has kept himself running, working out, sparring, and profusely sweating every day in the gym, with the mind set of “never giving up.”

As an amateur boxer, Nguyen Van Hai won the Vietnam national championships, and claimed medals in Asian Games in various weight-classes. But due to limited opportunities to battle as a pro, Nguyen Van Hai hasn’t fought much, currently being unbeaten in just 2 fights one of them he won by KO. That’s why, Nguyen Van Hai signed with VSP Boxing Promotions last year, in an attempt to kick off his pro boxing career, searching for a brighter future for his family.

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FOR COMPLETE STORY, PRESS HERE

By Carlos Costa
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 11 Dec 2021

MICHAEL PENGUE NOW A WBC CHAMP !

Big congratulation to one of the most popular boxers to compete in Vietnam at VSP events. Mickey Pengue was twice a World Team member at the big Victory8 shows, and Vietnam fighters commented that the style of Pengue was their favourite amongst the visiting team.Michael Pengue was part of a crack international squad that fought in Vietnam in late 2019, and included pinoys Charly Suarez, Jenel Lausa and Virgel Vitor.

Perhaps Vietnam’s best known female fighter, tam is a tall southpaw fighter with fast hands and feet. She is good in both attack and in counterpunching, and very skilled at drawing opponents in and landing her shots. Nguyen Thi Tam is an outstanding young prospect that still has lots of improvement, especially as a potential professional. There is no doubt that she can become a world class pro in the future.

ACHIEVEMENTS:
2021 Tokyo Olympics qualified
2019 South East Asian Games Gold Medal
2018 Champion Boxing Club Gold Medal
2017 Asian Women Boxing Championship Gold Medal
2016 National Championship Silver Medal
2013 National Championship Bronze Medal
2012 Champion Boxing Club Bronze Medal
2012 National Young Boxing Championship Gold Medal
2012 Open Military Cup Silver Medal
2011 National Championship Bronze Medal
2011 National Young Boxing Championship Gold Medal
2010 National Young Boxing Championship Bronze Medal

John Lawrence Ordonio achieved a stoppage win over outstanding young talent Jules Victoriano at QUEST FOR GLORY. It was his first match back since 2020 for the man known as The Equalizer, and what he lacked in timing, he made up for with ring guile and power. It was a match that both fighters will derive plenty of improvement from, and word is strong that a rematch is looking a possibility. This was a great tussle between Ordonio and Victoriano - definitely worth seeing a "take two"!

Simply put, we think ULTIMATE KNOCKOUT CHALLENGE is going to be the biggest show of the year in the Philippines! 13 fights with some of the biggest names in the country coming together to show you what quality match ups looks like. To make the event even more entertaining, VSP Promotions will give away USD 1,000 to anyone that can correctly guess the outcome of each fight! It's FREE so make sure to try our VSP SUREPICK!