Le Huu Toan wears his WBA Asia belt after defeating Kitidech Hirunsuk in HCMC on March 20, 2022. Photo by WBA Asia

After 12 rounds at Saigon Sports Club in Ho Chi Minh City, Toan beat Hirunsuk to lift the belt. The Thai referee gave him a score of 115-113 and the two Vietnamese refs gave him the same score of 116-112.

Before the game, Hirunsuk was unbeaten with eight straight wins. With the advantage of height, age and experience in pro boxing, he didn't hide his intention to knock out Toan. In the first four rounds, the Thai boxer tried to dominate with hard punches and hooks. The turning point came in the ninth round when Toan suddenly changed his pace and packed a lot of accurate punches to win consecutive points.

This is the third time for a Vietnamese boxer to hold an Asia belt. Before Toan, Tran Van Thao claimed the super flyweight WBA Asia belt in 2017 and Truong Dinh Hoang the super middleweight WBA Asia belt in 2020.

Toan, 29, has been the national champion of the minimum weight for the past two years although he had only started his boxing career three years ago after a long period as an athlete and coach of the traditional martial arts Vovinam.

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Source: VnExpress