“Flores is a warrior like all great Mexican fighters…That is the style I try to fight with too. I fight with that heart every time I’m in the ring. Flores came in fighting like a warrior but it didn’t work out for him.”—Dat Nguyen
Super featherweight Dat Nguyen (20-3) dropped and stopped previously unbeaten Miguel Flores (21-1) in the sixth-round of the main event of Premier Boxing Champions TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes Tuesday night from Silver Street in Houston, Texas.
Dat “Dat Be Dat” Nguyen was 21 when he made his pro debut against Ernest Scott at Bally Park Place Hotel Casino in New Jersey in May 2004. After stopping the hapless Scott, Dat won 16 of his next 17 and then met undefeated and touted Luis Orlando Del Valle at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC and lost a UD in 2011.This was after an 18 month break. More than two years later, on October 5, 2013, he lost to Jayson Velez (20-0) in Orlando, Florida.
Dat Be Dat then hung them up for 25 months before beating Gustavo Molina in May 2016. A month later—yes a month—he beat limited Jesus Lule in Hollywood, Florida in a fight that went totally unnoticed.
On February 21, 2017, road warrior Dat became semi-amazing at age 34 by beating the Mexican-American Flores. Referee Laurence Cole stopped matters in the sixth round. Flores, no slouch, had just come off a win over slick prospect Ryan Kielczweski at Turning Stone and was fully expected to dispatch the Vietnamese native. Flores has KO’d “The Stinging Bee” Alfred Tetteh of Ghana earlier in his career, so he had some gravitas but that was somewhat offset by feasting on Texas-style lower tier competition.
Dat said after the fight, “Today was my day to win. I’ve been here 13 years as a professional and I finally got my shot at the top. I’m thankful to everyone who believed in me.” Hmm. Will he keep on fighting now or revert to form and take another long layoff.
At age 34, Dat can still be a factor. Stay tuned.
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