HÀ NỘI — Trần Văn Thảo will vie for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Asia Pacific belt in June in Japan.

The 32-year-old national champion, who was the first Vietnamese competitor to win the World Boxing Council Asia's super flyweight (52kg) category, will face off against former world title holder Tomoya Tsuboi of Japan at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo on June 8.

The winner of the three-minute 10-round match will walk away with the bantamweight (54kg) belt and the currently vacant title, in a fight that Thảo said will be the biggest in his career.

This will be Thảo's 20th professional match. He has previously won 18 (10 knockouts) and lost one. 

He won the national championship title eight times before switching to pro boxing.

In his most recent match last May, Thảo beat Jakrawut Majungoen of Thailand in Goheung, South Korea, to take the WBO Global belt. 

He previously held an International Boxing Association World title in 2022.

His rival is 28 and four years younger than him. Tsuboi transitioned to professional boxing early this year and has since recorded two wins, including one knockout.   

Previously, he won gold at the 2021 world championships and bronze at the 2022 Asian Games.

Their bout is one of three world-class fights on the same night.

The main event will be an all-Japanese clash between WBC bantamweight title holder Junto Nakatani and International Boxing Federation reigning champion Ryosuke Nishida.

The main card match features Japan's Tenshin Nasukawa, WBO No. 11, and Victor Santillan of Dominica in the super bantam (55kg) category. VNS