A trivial comedy for serious people starring ERNESTO SAULONG Former IBF world title challenger Ernie Saulong is back where he belongs next month, centre ring in Manila paired with blue riband performer Michael “Hot’n Spicy” Dasmarinas. The outstanding Dasmarinas is no stranger to world title shots himself, having most recently fought pound for pound champion Naoya ‘the Monster” Inoue. Saulong who hails from Mindoro Occidental, now trains out of Laguna, and is fully versed in the enormity of the task that lies ahead. His career path has been highly successful against top echelon opponents, and he has managed to rack up 22 wins including 9 stoppages. The most notable of these was perhaps against top local prospect Arnel Baconaje, who seemed to be in total control their bout, yet was ultimately doubled over by body shots by the man known as “Chocolate”.
Ernie Saulong has also fought internationally, and ironically, it was a loss that won him most acclaim. In 2019, Saulong ventured to Australia where he took on the unbeaten and world rated Brock Jarvis. It was a match that Jarvis was meant to win comfortably, but Saulong turned it into a life and death struggle for the hometown fighter. It was the longest and toughest fight of the Aussie’s career, and Jarvis was made to dig deep by “Chocolate” Saulong. In the words of former world champion, and trainer Jeff Fenech: "And look at it like this, with 10 seconds to go in the first round, Brock got rocked by Saulong. Then got rocked again in the second. So he had to dig pretty deep. "To beat a Filipino champion like Ernie Saulong, you've gotta be able to fight. There's five thousand of them in each weight division. You've gotta be able to fight." So there you have it folks, world champion trainer Jeff Fenech paying Ernesto “Chocolate” Saulong the highest compliment. And they are words that Michael Dasmarinas should heed!
PHILIPPINES STAR A REAL UNDERDOG
December 24, 2024
Dear Partners,
I would like to take this moment to first wish you and your family a safe and blessed holiday season.
This annual report serves as a benchmark for our progress and a commitment to transparency in our operations. In 2024, a notable decline occurred in the number of professional boxing events held domestically. This downturn was primarily attributed to the cessation of grassroots events by VSP Promotions, a key promoter that played a crucial role in introducing new talent to the domestic professional boxing scene.
The challenges faced in organizing professional boxing events in Vietnam intensified in 2024 compared to the previous year, a reflection of the current market conditions. We anticipate this trend to persist in 2025 due to the continued existence of an unsupportive environment for event organizers, fostered by the local amateur boxing federation.
VBO organized the gathering of 10 commissions in Asia in 8/2024. It is our view that Asia has a fundamental challenge in how boxing is managed and supervised. Standardization and coherent cooperation models that have actionable and measurable outcomes will need to be developed in order to create more regional opportunities for the industry participants.
DOMESTIC REPORT 2024
INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2024
The VBO remains dedicated to securing international fight opportunities for Vietnamese boxers within safe environments. While the organization provides recommendations, the final decision to accept a fight rests solely with the boxers and their coaching teams.
OFFICIALS OF VBO REPORT 2024
VBO collects detailed performance data of each official in their assigned roles at every event. We compile these data for use towards training requirements to further improve their performance.
We hope that 2025 will bring more opportunities for the boxers between partnering countries and jointly continue to improve the quality of our officials. Have a wonderful holiday season! See you all in 2025.
Sincerely,
Lim Song
President of Vietnam Boxing Organization