Nguyen to face unbeaten opponent Tuesday
Dat Nguyen’s role as a teacher has helped him learn some things at the same time.
He hopes the knowledge he’s gleaned will lead to a victory in his next bout.
Nguyen, a Baldwin High School graduate, will face undefeated Miguel Flores on Tuesday in a 130-pound bout in Houston.
The 34-year-old Nguyen (19-3), who went more than 2 1/2 years without stepping into the ring competitively before winning his only two fights of 2016, also owns a gym in Vero Beach, Fla., and says his work with other boxers has made him better.
“This refreshes my mind, all of the things I had to learn when I was younger,” he said. “Sometimes, you forget. You have to go back to your roots again. When you train, you ask, ‘What is your knowledge base?’ For me, I’ve got all these weapons, this arsenal, this knowledge about boxing. Why can’t I apply this to myself?
“When I’m in the gym training with someone else, I’m thinking like a trainer, which means I’m also seeing the mistakes I’ve made.”
Nguyen defeated Jesus Lule in June and Gustavo Molina in May, both times by unanimous decision. Before that was a loss to Jayson Velez in 2013 — Nguyen’s first fight since a loss to Luis Orlando Del Valle in 2011, which came two years after defeating Andres Ledesma.
“I’ve been fighting for 13 years, but I’m like a 13-year-old car that doesn’t have a lot of miles,” Nguyen said.
In his bid to continue being scheduled consistently, Nguyen knows the exposure from Tuesday’s bout — which will be shown on cable channel FS1 — could be crucial.
“Viewers want to see an exciting fight,” he said. “They don’t want to just see hit and run. That’s part of the game.”
Flores last fought in August, improving to 21-0 with a unanimous-decision victory over Ryan Kielczweski. Tuesday’s bout will be his eighth since May of 2015.
“He’s a tough guy,” Flores said of Nguyen. “We’re expecting a tough fight.”
Nguyen’s losses are all to opponents who were unbeaten at the time — Del Valle, Velez and Gregorio Torres, who in 2007 stopped Nguyen’s streak of 11 straight wins to begin his professional career, had a combined record of 37-0.
“If plan A doesn’t work, I’ll to to plan B, and if plan B doesn’t work, I’ll go to plan C,” Nguyen said. “I have to be multidimensional.”
* Brad Sherman is at sports@mauinews.com.