The 26-year-old Thao, the first champion of Viet Nam, will fight in his 10th professional match.

Bamrungauea, 33, has 16 wins and 21 losses in his career. He is national No 11 and the current national champion.

Thao, who won all of his nine previous matches, said although he would be boxing on away ground, he was confident with the 10 victories because he spent the time to watch and analyse his rivals carefully.

Thao expects that winning the match would lift him to a higher position in the world, so he could take part in tournaments in the US in the future. He is currently No 91 in the world. — VNS