Vanda's first fight as a professional boxer was on March 30, 1996 in the welterweight division against Ed Fuller in Kearney, Nebraska. Vanda won the fight by knockout in the second round. Vanda showed great potential as a young pro, finally returning to St Paul for his fourth professional bout, a win against Angel Louis Salgado. Vanda won his first 11 fights by knockout, and was undefeated in his first 31 professional fights, garnering national attention. The national attention soured after Vanda defeated Sam Garr on ESPN in a controversial decisions. Vanda's resume includes many of the best in his division including: Sam Garr, Leonard Townsend, Homer Gibbins, Sean Monaghan, Sebastian Demers, Anthony "The Bullet" Bonsante, Tocker Pudwill, Phil "The Drill" Williams, Caleb Truax, not to mention boxing World Title Challengers such as: John Duddy, Marco Antonio Rubio, and Peter Manfredo jr. as well as the great Mexicano Campeons Julio Cesar Chavez jr. twice and Luis Ramon "Yory Boy" Campas twice as well! In April 2008 Vanda lost a unanimous decision to the highly regarded Sebastien Demers in a fight for Demers' IBF International middleweight title. In his most recent bout Vanda defeated Bruce Rumbolz by unanimous decision in an eight round affair. On June 24th 2005, "The Predator" Vanda recorded his greatest victory of his career in a thrilling victory for the I.B.A. America's Title over former World Champion Luis Ramon "Yory Boy" Campas in front of a rowdy crowd of 7,500 fans in his home state of Minnesota at the Target Center. On June 6, 2008, ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported Matt Vanda will fight Julio César Chávez, Jr. on July 12, 2008. On July 12 Vanda lost against Julio César Chávez Jr. in a controversial decision by a judge who gave the fight to Chavez 100 to 90. Chavez Jr. won by a split decision over Vanda. Chavez won by scores of 97-93 and 100-90, while losing 96-95 on another card. On November 1, 2008 Vanda lost against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision in a ten round affair. On February 21, 2009, Vanda lost a unanimous decision to John Duddy in a ten round affair. On April 18, 2009, Vanda scored a disputed majority decision win against veteran boxer and two time world title challenger Tocker Pudwill On August 14, 2009, Vanda had an impressive win against Ted Muller 80-72 | 80-72 | 79-74 this was a fight to prepare Vanda for his scheduled fight against the hard hitting Minnesota fighter Phil "The Drill" Williams on September 26, 2009
