Vietnamese boxer beats Mexican in WBO Global Title Match

The bout in the southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province on Saturday night was an eight-round event of three minutes each.

The two boxers began cautiously. Torres connected with a few punches and had Thao in some trouble early on, but gradually the Vietnamese gained composure and countered Torres with dangerous hand blows.

At the end of the first round Thao got the crowd going with two accurate punches.

The second round started with the two boxers stepping up the intensity. Thao landed a series of powerful body shots, which clearly hurt Torres and forced him to go on the defensive.

But he nevertheless managed to score with a combination before the second round ended.

Thao continued to score in the third round with an uppercut and an accurate left hook. Not only did he attack well, he also showed good defensive skills in the fourth round.

Torres tried to attack more in the fifth round, but Thao managed to keep him at bay. The Mexican boxer showed no signs of tiring, and the two boxers continued to exchange blows in the remaining rounds.

After eight rounds the judges declared Thao winner by points in a unanimous/split decision, his 16th win in 17 fights, xxx by knockout.

It was Torres’s 5th defeat in 17 bouts. He has 12 victories, including nine by KO.

Thao said later: "Before the match I thought it would be difficult to knock him out. I was happy and honored to defeat a boxer from Mexico for the first time. He is experienced and was not easy to fight."

In the night’s main card, China’s Zhu DianXing successfully defended the his WBO 47.5 kg world title against the challenger from Thailand, Sanchai Yotboon.

Zhu kept the Thai under tremendous pressure with body blows.

In the third round, after being hit with heavy punches in the abdomen, Yotboon hit the canvas twice in quick succession but got up both times.

It was third time lucky for Zhu who sent him crashing with another body blow from which Yotboon failed to recover.

Zhu was winner by knockout and improved his record to 11 wins (10 by KO) in 12 fights.