LAKELAND, Florida — Dat Nguyen vividly recalls the last time he fought in this part of town.
The moment came in 2016, returning to the ring for the first time in three year with hopes of a fresh start. Nguyen scored a six-round decision win over Gustavo Molina on the undercard of a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Bounce TV show from Lakeland (Florida) Events Center, now known as the RP Funding Center where he continues his latest journey as a contender on the Bareknuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) circuit.
This opportunity is one like no other which he received through 10 years as an active boxer—a shot at a world title.
“I’ve spent my entire boxing career sparring with lots of world champions but never able to get any of them in the ring,” Nguyen told BoxingScene.com. “Now I’m here fighting for the BKFC world lightweight championship, coming on the biggest BKFC show ever.”
The moment for Nguyen (2-0, 1KO BKFC; 20-3, 7KOs boxing) comes versus unbeaten Johnny Bedford (5-0, 3KOs), a pioneer of the reinvented sport who attempts his second title defense. The bout serves as the chief support to a Fite TV Pay-Per-View card dubbed ‘Knucklemania,’ topped by the BKFC debut of former UFC fighter Paige VanZant who faces two-sport fighter Britain Hart (1-2 BKFC; 4-4-3 boxing).
Nguyen has noticed an uptick in notoriety since entering this circuit in Oct. 2019 and more so throughout fight week given the extra attention paid to VanZant’s signing with the company. The 38-year old from Vero Beach, Florida by way of Bien Hoa, Vietnam has always enjoyed a regional following as a boxer, though in a sport where even his best moments weren’t enough to maximize his in-ring potential. That base has carried over into a new world where his name has only continued to grow.
“Boxing and UFC fans are merging together for this sport,” insists Nguyen. “It’s the oldest sport but the newest legalized sport. It’s the purest form of sport. I’m way more motivated for this fight than any other in my career.”
Nguyen’s placement on this card comes full circle with the better intentions of his aforementioned boxing comeback nearly five years ago. It was on that May 2016 show where he first had the chance to work with David Feldman, who as with King’s Promotion at the time before moving forward with a longtime vision to create BKFC which officially launched in 2018 in Tampa.
The timing of this weekend’s show could not have been better for all parties involved, along with the chance to stroll down memory lane.
“It’s a great facility and the people are great working with,” Feldman told BoxingScene.com of bringing the show to this area, along with Nguyen’s placement on the card in his first world title fight in any sport. “It’s close enough to Tampa where you can experience the Super Bowl week atmosphere.
“I remember being down there while working boxing shows, with Dat on the first show (of two) that we did here. It’s just a great area. We are selling tickets at 22% and knew the venue would sell out. It holds 10,000 under normal capacity but with social distancing, we could only make 2,200 tickets available. The place will be as packed as social distancing will allow and we’re thrilled to give Dat this opportunity to fight for the world championship.”
It comes versus a fellow 38-year old in Bedford who has an established fan base on this circuit, having appeared on the first show in June 2018. The paths of the title fight participants hadn’t yet crossed prior to this fight being signed, although it didn’t take long for either to strike a nerve with the other.
That level of grudge match was something sorely missing in Nguyen’s boxing journey, strangely which ended on a high note. The charismatic featherweight enjoyed a three-fight win streak to wrap up his career, including a 6th round knockout of then-unbeaten prospect Miguel Flores in 2017. Flores was being groomed for a title shot versus Leo Santa Cruz—an opportunity that would still come, albeit two years later.
Nguyen never got that call in boxing, nor really other besides the one requesting his services on short notice.
All it took for that level of respect to come along was a career change.
“This is going to open a lot of doors for me,” envisions Nguyen. “I’m super excited for this fight. I’m mentally and physically prepared for a war and to make history.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox