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Inverurie’s ‘Teuchter’ Mat Donald gets ready to fight for children’s charity in Vietnam showdown

To go with story by Neil Drysdale. Mat Donald is fighting in Vietnam for a children's charity Picture shows; Inverurie boxer Mat Donald. Vietnam. Supplied by Mat Donald Date; Unknown
To go with story by Neil Drysdale. Mat Donald is fighting in Vietnam for a children's charity Picture shows; Inverurie boxer Mat Donald. Vietnam. Supplied by Mat Donald Date; Unknown

It’s a fight which has been billed as The Teuchter v The King.

And a north-east boxer is stepping back into the ring for the first time in years this weekend to raise funds for charity in Vietnam.

Mat Donald, 36, from Inverurie, admits it will be a major challenge when he goes toe-to-toe with Truong Dinh Hoang, the current WBA Asia super-middleweight champion, on Sunday night at the Saigon Sports Club.

But the Scot, who is an operations manager in the energy sector and has lived in Vietnam for three years, said that the event was a chance to “give something back” to the country which he now regards as his second home.

And he has already raised nearly $60,000 of the $100,000 target which he has pledged to give to the organisation Saigon Children Charity.

Inverurie boxer Mat Donald is fighting in Vietnam for charity.

He said: “Having been a good amateur boxer in my younger years with around 30 bouts, I have agreed to take part in one more fight on March 21 for charity.

“I will dust off my boots and gloves and take to the ring one last time for the four-round professional bout at light-heavyweight level.

“My last amateur boxing match was in 2011 and my last MMA (mixed martial arts) fight was in 2013.

“I was really enjoying playing golf, but the offer to help charity if I took the fight made it impossible to turn down. I have been training very hard and will be ready.

Mat Donald will fight an Asian great in Saigon on March 21.

“My opponent is as tough as they come and it will be an honour to share a ring with him.  He is known as The King and recently added to his tally of multiple golds at the Vietnam National Boxing Championships.

“He is also very supportive of the charity fundraising initiatives which are happening at the event and has struggled with finding opponents due to the COVID restrictions in place. That is the reason why he is boxing me  – a nobody.”

When the event takes place, it will be both live on TV and streamed online and is expected to gain a large number of viewers across Vietnam and South East Asia.

It is top of the bill on a programme with numerous other charity fundraising bouts between Vietnamese celebrities and top chefs in the city which has dealt better with the pandemic than most other places across the world.

Mat Donald is pledging to raise $100,000 for a children’s charity in Vietnam.

Mr Donald added: This is an opportunity for me to give something back to the country that has given me great opportunities and which I now consider my second home. I am requesting donations through my Just Giving page.

“My family are back in Scotland and we keep in touch by video chat and I haven’t been with them since December in 2019. But I am very fortunate to be here in Vietnam because they have been world-class in preventing COVID-19 outbreaks.

He explained that he had acquired the nickname The Teuchter in his early days of boxing when “nobody could understand my Scots-English [accent].”