Nguyen Van A knocks out Filipino opponent in round 5: The hand-strike tactic changed the entire fight

On the afternoon of March 28, 2026, at the Phu Tho Gymnasium (Ho Chi Minh City), Nguyen Van A officially won the WBA Asian heavyweight title by knocking out Filipino champion Rodel Santos with a right hook to the liver in the 2nd minute of round 5. The fight was not only a dramatic contest but also revealed a tactical turnaround by the home boxer. From the first minute, Santos – the three-year titleholder – aggressively closed the distance with a typical Filipino infighting style, repeatedly using his left jab to measure range. In the first two rounds, Nguyen Van A was almost completely reactive: his striking accuracy was only 32%, 15% lower than his recent average. The crowd began to worry. But the turning point came at the end of round 3, when head coach Pham Quoc Tuan decided to change the game plan: switch from a traditional lead-hand approach to a lateral-moving counter-fighting style, waiting for an opening for the right hand. "I saw he was tired having to chase me," Nguyen Van A shared after the match. "In round 4, I started hitting the body – not the head. A body shot in the middle of the round made Santos freeze for a few seconds, and I knew the opportunity had come." Indeed, in the fourth round, Santos landed only 8 punches (compared to 23 in round 1), a sharp drop indicating severe stamina decline. Nguyen Van A capitalized with three consecutive liver hooks – a punch he had practiced for 8 months on a 100 kg heavy bag at the Binh Duong gym. From a technical perspective, this victory is not just about power. It is the result of a long-term plan targeting Santos's biggest weakness: body-punch resistance. Data from VangBong.vn shows that 70% of Santos's losses (over the past 5 years) came from body shots. Nguyen Van A and his team reviewed 12 fight tapes of the opponent, discovering that Santos often loses focus after taking a left side liver shot from round 4 onward. And they exploited that exactly. However, one contrarian angle cannot be ignored: Is Santos still at his peak? At age 34, with 42 pro fights, he has entered the late stage of his career. This loss could signal the end of his reign. Or it could be just a temporary tactical accident. His next fight (scheduled for July against a Korean boxer) will provide the answer. For Nguyen Van A, this is a leap in reputation. From a obscure boxer nicknamed "The Grinder" (for his one-dimensional style), he is now the number one hope for Vietnamese heavyweight boxing. Can he defend the title against challenges from Thailand and Japan? Or will the fervor of home fans become pressure that prevents him from going further? The fight in August this year against Chatchai Sithsaeng – ranked 5th in the world – will be the real test. Every victory brings new questions. And Nguyen Van A's story is just beginning. The arena tonight was empty, but I could hear the roar inside every Vietnamese martial arts fan. That is the cry of a generation hungry for real victories.