Ngoc Luong: 'The Brazilian boxer can't do anything to me'
On the evening of April 22 at the Rach Mieu Gymnasium, Ho Chi Minh City, Tran Ngoc Luong fought with Robson de Oliveira Soares in the 60kg class at the LION Championship 05 martial arts tournament. Although both sides could not deliver the decisive blow, Vietnamese boxers in general. underperformed the Brazilian in three rounds of nine minutes each. However, two out of three assessors still gave Ngoc Luong a higher score. This surprised the Brazilian boxer, and his coach considered it a terrible fraud.
Ngoc Luong said he does not mind the controversy about winning or losing, because that is the job of the referee and the judges. "I respect the decision of the jury and the opponent," he said. "After the match, I still shook hands to say hello, talk to ask. I gave my all, out of respect for the audience and those watching on television."
Ngoc Luong also said that he had studied carefully to limit Oliveira's attacks, such as how to keep distance, fight take-down, so when he fell, he was able to limit attacks from the opponent to escape or fights back. "The opponent is a third-dan black belt in jiu-jitsu, but I can't do anything, even though I've only been practicing this martial art for two or three years," Ngoc Luong affirmed.
The 30-year-old boxer also emphasized that Oliveira was very strong but couldn't finish him, as demonstrated by his staying strong through attacks despite being in a disadvantageous position and not letting his opponent attack to deal damage. "That's my success. Oliveira is strong at grappling, when wrestling me to the ground he has to get in a good position to attack continuously or finish me off. But after three rounds, Oliveira didn't do anything." , the host boxer added.
After the battle on April 22, the Vietnam General Martial Arts Federation (VMMAF) admitted that the match between Ngoc Luong and Oliveira "showed signs of professional error". They assigned the Organizing Committee and the Federation Professional Committee to cut the ice and re-evaluate the match.
