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FIGHT 2: Jetro Pabustan v Le Hoang Hiep

LE HOANG HIEP  Debut

22 yrs old / Orthodox / Young Blood / 162cm / 55kg Super Bantamweight

Nam Dinh, Vietnam / Matrix Boxing HCMC

Young Blood, Thug Life, Saigon Psycho, Street Vigga - Russian born Hiep goes by many names, but they all point to a central truth. This young Viet is equal parts crazy brave and crazy mad ! But he can fight too !

Competing with grown men in amateur tournaments when just a teen, Le Hoang Hiep showed loads of potential, but unfortunately the pandemic and the closure of all Vietnam gyms halted that potential growth. Temporarily at least !

VSP put out advertisements looking for young Viet prospects looking to gain experience against  visiting pros, and Hiep was one of the very first to respond. Despite being only a true 51kg Flyweight, Hiep begged for the Bantamweight clash with Philippines Jetro Pabustan.

“Get me that bitch Pabustan, he will be mine”!. And so the job was awarded to Hiep !

Prior to the pandemic, Le Hoang Hiep showed that he has the makings of a good pro.

He boasts plenty of speed and power, and he also showed good timing in high level amateur bouts that he contested. And the guy is super tough.!

If there was to be a query on Hiep in this bout, it would be to do with his jump of three weight classes and his ability to maintain workrate against the heavier Philippines boxer. Pabustan.is well known for his fitness, and as Hiep only commenced training recently, 4 rounds will seem an eternity against the bigger Jetro Pabustan.

JETRO PABUSTAN  31 wins

32 yrs old / Southpaw / Silent Operator / 168cm / 55kg Super Bantamweight

Malapatan, Sarangani, Philippines / VSP Elorde Manila

Jetro Pabustan is one of the most experienced fighters appearing at the Fortunes of War in Ho Tram. The clever southpaw is known as the Silent Operator, and when you watch him at work, it’s no surprise that this technician has racked up 31 wins in his career so far. With a professional resume dating back to 2008, Pabustan suffered only one defeat in his first 29 bouts, an amazing feat considering he was fighting everyone!

The Silent Operator hails from Malapatan , Sarangani, but has fought for most of his career based in Cagayan de Oro. A talented southpaw from the start, his style has always been steeped in good fundamentals – touch jabs, deft counters, and point scoring against opponents that get a bit ragged. This template saw him get to a WBO world bantamweight title in 2016, one that he unfortunately lost to the legendary Thai Panya Uthok by technical decision. Ironically, this title was later avenged by another quality pinoy named Marlon Tapales. The very next year, Jetro Pabustan ventured to Japan to claim the WBO Asia Pacific title, accounting for the highly rated Tatsuya Takahashi. When it appeared that his career was in another upswing, the talented CDO fighter seemingly vanished from the landscape, fighting only three times in the next 3 years.

The Silent Operator resumed in May to beat the outstanding and dangerous Bryan Tamayo in Manila. He followed that effort with a last moment trip to the United States to take on the world top 20 fighter Tramaine Williams. Whilst being on the receiving end of  a narrow loss, many that watched this fight were convinced that Pabustan had done enough to get his hand raised.

Jetro Pabustan will look to erase that disappointment and make an emphatic statement here in Vietnam.