Boxers fight for international titles in HCM City

Vietnamese boxer Trinh The Long will vie for the WBC Asia silver middleweight category belt at the LEAD: Battle of Power on August 20 in HCM City. (Photo of Shadow Entertainment)

Hanoi - The professional boxing series LEAD will be back with 12 thrilling bouts to be held at the Saigon Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City on August 20.

'The LEAD: Battle of Power' will see 24 promising athletes from different countries vying for Asian titles of World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA), two of the world's most prestigious organisations in the sport.

It will be the first time a WBC Asia match is held in Vietnam.

The main card will be between undefeated Trinh The Long and Chayanon Phothijun, a leading boxer from Thailand. They will vie for the WBC Asia silver middleweight belt.

Long has had four professional fights and won all with knock-out results. Meanwhile, Phothijun took part in 10 bouts. He won seven with five KOs and lost three.

Meanwhile, there are three WBA Asia title fights to be organised on the same night.

In the lightweight bout, Vo Hong Dat, a promising young Vietnamese boxer with a remarkable performance in local and international competitions recently, will face experienced Ernie Sanchez of the Philippines, one of the top boxing hubs in the world.

Dat has recorded five wins with four KOs in his career while Sanchez has boxed 41 bouts, including 21 wins (12 KOs), 18 losses and two draws.

In the light flyweight class, boxing prodigy Arvin Paciones will go head-to-head with Jonathan Refugio in an all-Filipino match.

Paciones, who is currently practising in Vietnam, has fought four times, winning all with three KOs. He is world No 49, according to Boxrec.

Refugio is much more experienced than his rival. Among his 36 matches, he won 22 with eight KOs, lost nine and drew five.

The last title match is between Russian Avzalbek Kuranbaev and Filipino Adam Diu Abdulhamid, fighting for the WBA South Asia middleweight belt.

Kuranbaev has taken part in nine bouts, he won seven with five KOs, lost one and drew one. Meanwhile, Abdulhamid has fought 31 times, earning 18 wins with nine KOs and 13 losses with three KOs.

Supporters will also cheer on fights between Kellian Sisovic of France vs Zainul Hasan Jr of Indonesia and Hamad Nabil from Singapore vs Triệu Kim Long of Vietnam, as well as Lu Huu Thien and Vo Thanh Tung, both of the host country, among others.

The LEAD: Battle of Power is the third event in the series of pro LEAD boxing. The first two were 'LEAD: The Beginning' and 'LEAD: Born to Lead'.

LEAD events are organised by Shadow Entertainment, the Vietnam Boxing Federation and the HCM City Boxing Federation.

The series, scheduled to be organised regularly, is expected to reach international standards and become a strong base for Vietnamese fighters to gain experience and integrate into the world.

Shadow Entertainment is operating in the field of managing and training professional boxers and martial artists and organising events.

Shadow Entertainment is home to more than 30 local and international athletes such as WBA Asia champions Truong Dinh Hoang, Eric Pen and Le Huu Toan as well as Muay Thai WBC winner Nguyen Ke Nhon and WBC Muay Thai International champion Truong Cao Minh Phat.