Gretel is a strong, come forward action fighter. She has a low centre of gravity, and her ability to work the body whilst marching forward makes her difficult to defy. Her hands are deceptively quick, and she lands shots well if able to achieve close range. She competed at Victory 8 in March against Nguyen Thi Tam, taking the fight at short notice. There is no doubt we will see a vastly improved version of Gretel De Paz come October 19.
It pays to be versatile, and former musician Rica Aquino makes no secret of her love for the sport of boxing. A relatively late starter to tackling the pros, the girl known as "Baby Dynamite" resumes from a three year hiatus when she clashes with debutant Erika Ballen at ANNIHILATION UKC next month.
Aquino, who also has a passionate involvement in boxing media, is a sponge for information, and is working hard on fitness and skills for her first fight back.
And who better to learn from than the exquisite Miss Gretel De Paz!
Gretel is one of the Philippines best performed pros, and was even recently a SEA Games medalist in Muay Thai. De Paz has twice been a member of the World Team against Vietnam, where she joined fighters of the calibre of Mateo Tapia, Charly Suarez, Danilo Creati, Virgel Vitor and Michael Pengue.
They say if you go swimming, you gonna get wet, and we are sure Rica got in the deep end of the pool today!
RICA AQUINO v ERIKA BALLEN
4 rounds Bantamweight
ANNIHILATION UKC
Elorde Sports Centre Paranaque Manila Sunday August 7th
Banging times ahead for some of the Elorde crew.
Gretel De Paz heads to Australia in June, then Lorenz Ladrada to Australia, Cris Ganoza and the Wolverine JonJon Estrada to Japan, and Jules Victoriano to Vietnam, all in July.
Ranny Quizo also meets Rodel Suganob in a local derby that same month.
DON'T FORGET we will have a big card for Manila on August 7th, where we are working to get the Philippines best Charly Suarez his first foreign opponent in the professional ranks.
Also very exciting news breaking late last night is the appearance at this show of the promising and unbeaten Jerald Into.
For those who aren't familiar with the name, you are sure to hear a lot more!
This is a boxer who has settled his first 4 fights with dramatic Knockouts !
SEA Games silver medallist and Victory8 World Team member Gretel De Paz will make her return to the ring in Brisbane next month.
De Paz will take on rising Aussie star Taylah Robertson, who is a former esteemed amateur. The clash represents a rise in weight class for the Philippines fighter, but she definitely possesses the heavier hands, and she is likely to give Robertson plenty to contend with.
Elorde team at this morning's photo call ! Top pros Jules Victoriano, Ranny Quizo, Gretel De Paz, Jover Amistoso and JL Laurente all have big matches at UKC, with Gretel De Paz making her much anticipated Muay Thai debut.
Meanwhile, with an eye to the future, amateur hopefuls Bong Lipata, Raizen Jhay Dela Fuente, and Fernando Olivar are ready to steal all the attention come February 12. These boys are still only teens, and are working hard on their fitness and skills to forge a pro career later on.
PHILIPPINES 🇵🇭 STAR A REAL UNDERDOG
Betting markets have just gone up, and as you'd expect, Mexico's Emanuel Navarrete is quoted as an "unbeatable" favourite against the "King's Warrior" Charly Suarez.
But world boxing fans are not so well informed, and often fickle, and these opening markets offer huge value to those loyal to the chances of the Philippines' best boxer.
Here's how the two fighters line up according to BoxLive :
PREVIEW
When is Navarrete vs Suarez?
Emanuel Navarrete will face the challenge of Charly Suarez on Saturday, May 10th, 2025, at Pechanga Arena, San Diego.
The fight will be contested over 12 rounds in the Super Featherweight division, which means the weight limit will be 130 pounds (9.3 stone or 59 kg).
This contest is for the WBO super featherweight championship of the world.
FIGHTER STATS
Emanuel Navarrete steps into the ring with a record of 39 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw, 32 of those wins coming by way of knockout.
Charly Suarez will make his way to the ring with an unblemished record of 18 wins and 0 draws, with 10 of those by knockout.
The stats suggest Navarrete has a large advantage in power over Suarez, boasting a 82% knockout percentage compared to Suarez's 56%.
Emanuel Navarrete is the younger man by 6 years, at 30 years old.
Navarrete has a height advantage of 1 inch over Suarez. This also extends to a 7-inch reach advantage.
Both Emanuel Navarrete and Charly Suarez fight out of an orthodox stance.
Navarrete is the more experienced professional fighter, having had 24 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 7 years earlier than Suarez, whose first professional fight was in 2019. He has fought 123 more professional rounds, totaling 246 compared to Suarez's 123.
Emanuel Navarrete goes into the fight ranked number 1 by The Ring at super featherweight.
Charly Suarez is currently ranked number 15 by the WBC, 1 by the WBO, and 4 by the IBF in the 130lb division.
CURRENT FORM
Navarrete has beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 2 of them, going the distance once.
In his last fight, he beat Oscar Valdez on December 7, 2024, by knockout in the 6th round in their WBO World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Footprint Center, Phoenix, United States.
Prior to that, he had been beaten by Denys Berinchyk on May 18, 2024, by split decision in their WBO World Lightweight championship fight at Pechanga Arena, San Diego.
Going into that contest, he had drawn with Robson Conceicao on November 16, 2023, by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their WBO World Junior Lightweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.
Before that, he had beaten Oscar Valdez on August 12, 2023, by unanimous decision in their WBO World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale.
He had won against Liam Wilson on February 3, 2023, by technical knockout in the 9th round in their WBO World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale.
Charly Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) had several hundred fights as an amateur, representing his homeland at the 2016 Olympics and several World Championships.
A six-year pro, he won a pair of regional titles in March 2023 when he scored a come-from-behind 12th-round stoppage over Paul Fleming on hostile turf in Sydney, Australia.
The Fleming triumph paved the way for a deal with Top Rank, and Suarez has won three straight fights in America. He knocked out Jorge Castañeda in three rounds last September, which came five months removed from a hard-fought eight-round decision over Louie Coria.
ACTIVITY CHECK
Navarrete's last 5 fights have come over a period of 2 years, 3 months and 7 days, which means he has been fighting approximately every 5 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 51 rounds, meaning that they have lasted 10.2 rounds on average.
Navarrete will be making his 4th defense of the WBO World Junior Lightweight Championship. He won this belt against Liam Wilson in February 2023.He had held this belt for 2 years, 1 month and 23 days.
Suarez has had 2 fights in 2023, and 2 fights in 2024. His most recent was a knockout victory in September of last year against Jorge Castañeda. This will be his first attempt at the WBO World Title.
#VSPPromotions #vspboxing #vsppro #boxingvietnam #Elorde #ElordeTV
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