Tran Van Thao takes first IBA champion bantamweight belt for Vietnam
(VOVWORLD) - Vietnamese boxer Tran Van Thao needed only two minutes to knock out Andrew Laurio of the Philippines to win the International Boxing Association (IBA) bantamweight belt in Ho Chi Minh City last week.
 Vietnamese boxer Tran Van Thao (R). (Photo: laodong.vn) |
The fight on Friday was scheduled for 12 three-minute rounds but Thao floored Laurio in the second minute of the first round.
Thao, 30, had a near-perfect record going into the fight, with 14 wins and just one loss.
His best result to date was a World Boxing Council (WBC) Asian Boxing Council Super Flyweight title in 2017 when he floored George Lumoly of Indonesia in Bangkok, Thailand, becoming the first Vietnamese male world boxing champion.