The friendly event features five matches with five Vietnamese fighters, Vo Thi Kim Anh, Bui Công Danh Loi, Cao Van Nguyen, Nguyen Van Duong and Nguyen Hong Thang. The RoK boxers are Lee Seong Ho, Suh Moon Chui, Park Hye Soo, Lee Nam Jun and Moon Seong Hyoek.
The event is organised as a result of a cooperation agreement among the National Sports Administration, the Vietnam Boxing Federation and the Republic of Korea’s Boxing Committee (KBC) in April.
After this tournament, KBC aims to train Vietnamese boxers professionally for international tournaments.
Former World Boxing Association (WBA) Champion Hong Soo Hwang of the RoK attended the event. Hwang spoke of his hope that Vietnamese boxing would soon shine in elite tournaments such as the Asian Games or the Olympics.
Earlier, boxers of Vietnam and the RoK also competed in the Vietnam Nam- Korea Professional Boxing Tournament in 2015 in HCM City.
According to Tran Minh Tien, Chairman of the Vietnam Boxing Federation, the event is a test for the practicality of organising future professional boxing fights in Vietnam.
“At present, the RoK has more than 40 world champions. The country would like to cooperate over the long term with Vietnam as it sees that Vietnam has the potential to develop boxing professionally. The Vina Boxing Cup is a semi-professional event but it is the first event to try holding a professional event in the future with the active support of the RoK,” said Tien.
