Dat Nguyen (boxer)

Dat Nguyen (born October 10, 1982) is a Vietnamese-born American boxer and bare-knuckle boxer. He recently competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship and was the BKFC Bantamweight Champion.

Early life
When Dat was eight years old, his mother decided to leave Vietnam to give her family a better life. She brought Dat and his five siblings to Hawaii where he grew up on the island of Maui. In eighth grade, Dat won his first Junior Olympic Championship and went on to win the Men's State Championship and Hawaii Golden Gloves. In 2001, Dat graduated with Honors and was awarded a full Scholarship to Northern Michigan University, site of one of the three United States Olympic Training Centers. He spent three years studying Computer Information Systems while representing the USOEC in National and International competitions as an Olympic Hopeful.

Boxing career
During his time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Dat was the first Vietnamese-American to win a silver medal at the National Golden Gloves and a bronze medal at the 2003 U.S. Championships that earned him spot at the U.S Men's Challenge to qualify for the first Olympic spot. In the U.S Challenge, Dat fought Mickey Bey (the eventual 2004 Olympian) but lost to him on a tie breaker.

Following his departure from the U.S Olympic Education Training Center, Dat decided to turn professional and made his debut on May 1, 2004 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Dat won his first professional fight by knocking out Ernest Scott in the first round.

Bare-knuckle boxing
In 2019, Nguyen signed with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

On October 19, 2019, he made his bare-knuckle debut against Travis Thompson at BKFC 8: Silva vs. Gonzaga. Nguyen won by unanimous decision.

On February 15, 2020, Nguyen defeated Abdiel Velasquez by first-round knockout at BKFC 10: Lombard vs Mundell.

Dat Nguyen was scheduled to face Johnny Bedford for the BKFC Lightweight Championship at BKFC 16: KnuckleMania on February 5, 2021. After a hard-fought five-round war, Nguyen came out on top by judges decision to become the new BKFC Lightweight Champion. He subsequently called out Jonny Beltran for his next bout.

On June 10, 2021, BKFC president Dave Feldman revealed that the organization and Nguyen were unable to come to terms regarding a new contract, leading to the title being stripped and making Nguyen a free agent.

Nguyen ended up fighting for BKFC again and faced Luis Palomino at BKFC 22 on November 12, 2021 for the lightweight title and lost via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award.

Nguyen then faced two-time Bellator Featherweight World Champion Daniel Straus at BKFC 38 in the main event and won by unanimous decision in the sixth round after the first five rounds were ruled a draw.

Fighting style
Nguyen is a boxer puncher with hand speed and power, who likes to beat up the body. He is promoted by King's Promotions, the leading promoter for Premier Boxing Champions (PBC). "Dat brings a ton of charisma coupled with great skill into the ring and I am happy to showcase his talents," said DiBella.

"Boxing is not my mother's first choice for me" said Nguyen. "But she encourages me to give 100% to anything I do. This is the thing I choose to do, "said Nguyen

Nguyen is trained by known teacher and former legendary fighter James "Buddy" McGirt in Vero Beach, Florida where Nguyen now lives. "He will be a champion" said McGirt.

Championships and accomplishments

 * Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC)
 * BKFC Bantamweight Championship (one time)
 * Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Luis Palomino