Nguyen Van Duong is the hottest property in Vietnam boxing right now and is being fast-tracked to make noise come the Olympics at Tokyo 2021.
Duong was recommended by VSP Boxing to attend the Olympic qualifiers in Jordan last year, and he blasted through two top-quality opponents to create history and become Vietnam’s first boxing Olympian since 1988.
Despite just emerging from lockdown, VSP has worked hard to secure quality sparring for NVD to make sure he is at full throttle once international events resume. It is planned that featherweight will fight the Korean national super feather champ at an exhibition in August, and then take on Ariel Puton of the Philippines in a professional match in November.
Puton is the winner of 5 of his 6 bouts, 4 by way of KO. His lone loss was at the hands of the outstanding Australian boxer Liam Wilson whilst competing in a heavier weight class.
VSP Boxing staged an open workout on June 13 where Nguyen Van Duong was matched with the classy Uzbekistan fighter Abdurasul Ismoilov. Details of the match up and form guide are listed below.
Nguyen Van Duong (Vietnam) 57kg amateur/pro (national champ, Sea Games medal) v Abdurasul Ismoilov (Uzbekistan) 63.5kg pro 8 wins
Victory 8 says: Nguyen Van Duong is the hottest property in Vietnam boxing. The national champ scored great wins in two Victory 8 events, before gaining silver behind a Thai legend at SEA Games 2019. He parlayed that good performance by going to Jordan and stopping both the Australian champion, and next his SEA Games nemesis, to earn a spot for Tokyo 2021.
Nguyen Van Duong is a smart but power laden boxer that LOVES to destroy opponents, and whilst better suited to pro style fighting, he will do great in Tokyo next year. It speaks volumes for the 57kg Viet’s power that he is doing four rounds with a TOP quality 61kg opponent here. And not just any opponent!
Abdurasul Ismoilov from Uzbekistan is just a beautiful boxer to watch. He has superb balance and footwork, really knows how to cut the ring off and limit his opponent’s options, and operates with a really tight defence.
He is a southpaw pressure fighter, but he is also GREAT at counterpunch. And he is magnificent on the inside. Ismoilov has a superb pro record of 9 wins, and his experience will be a great leveller for NVD here. The Uzbek boxer is great at changing angles of attack and retreat, so watch for this master to effortlessly go from southpaw to orthodox here, and back again, if it suits his purpose.
Wow – what can you say? This is a dream match up. Nguyen Van Duong is young, heavy handed and super confident and on the rise. And he is much faster!
But there isn’t much Ismoilov hasn’t seen, and expect to see Ismoilov make NVD pay if he gets too impatient to earn his shots here, Duong is also slightly more vulnerable to the southpaw stance, so a really good learning spar for him. NVD is a young lion, he is excitement plus – always great to watch! Ismoilov is the perfect foil here as the lion tamer!
