Welcome to Vietnam! Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen Becomes Vietnam’s First World Champion
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Ansan, South Korea (October 25th, 2021)– Unbeaten unknown Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen became Vietnam’s first ever world boxing champion when she decisioned Japan’s Etsuko Tada over ten rounds to win the World Boxing Organization Female World Minimumweight title, on October 23, 2021, at Wadong Gymnasium, in Ansan, South Korea.
The younger Nguyen, age 25, 5-0 with one knockout, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, outpointed the aging southpaw female champion Tada, age 40, 20-4-3 with seven knockouts, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Tada, a champion on and off for over a decade at this weight. The championship bout, fought in neutral territory in South Korea, produced the first legitimate male or female world champion out of the nation of Vietnam in boxing history, with scores of 96-94 for Nguyen, close but unanimous for the new champion.
Nguyen, who turned pro in 2015, won the female WBO Asia Pacific title previously to win this world title shot, and trained for her world title opportunity extensively in Uzbekistan.