NGOUDJO VAINQUEUR "LOGIQUE" DE SOULEYMAN...

Ngoudjo Out-Points M'Baye

   

Last night, at The Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, Canada, 28-year-old Herman Ngoudjo unanimously out-pointed former WBA light-welterweight champion Souleymane M'baye over twelve rounds in an IBF 140 pound final elimination bout. Ngoudjo, who was born in Cameroon but now lives in Montreal, won by scores of 117-111, 116-112, 115-113. Ngoudjo improved his record to 17-2(9). While the beaten Frenchman in M'baye fell to 36-3-1(25).

The win, which earned Ngoudjo a title fight with IBF 140 pound champion Paulie Malignaggi ( a rematch, actually, as the two men fought this past January) was a tough one. Ngoudjo boxed well in the first two rounds, looking sharp and accurate. But then in the 3rd, his left eye began to swell up badly. By the 5th round, the eye was almost completely closed and the ringside doctor was called to inspect the damage. Deemed okay to carry on, "The Black Panther" showed heart and bravely fought the 33-year-old M'baye on the inside..

M'baye won the middle rounds clearly, as he roughed Ngoudjo up and it seemed the older man would win the fight. But the Canadian resident fought back well in the late rounds, getting the better of things whenever the two men fought in close. M'baye felt he'd won at the final bell, as did the man who was awarded the victory in Ngoudjo. Now the official IBF number one contender at light-welterweight, the 28-year-old will be looking forward to a return meeting with the man who beat him on points in a close contest back in January of this year.

A good fighter who is both determined and physically strong, Ngoudjo surprised a lot of people in his fight with "The Magic Man." Although on paper he lost by a clear margin, with one judge scoring the fight 117-111 in favour of Malignaggi, the fight was actually much closer. Indeed, some observers only had the defending champion winning by a single point. A rematch would likely result in another hard fight for both men. However, with Malignaggi scheduled to meet Ricky Hatton in November it seems Ngoudjo will have to wait his turn for another go at the flashy and fast talking New Yorker.

Ngoudjo has never been stopped, with both of his losses coming via somewhat controversial decisions that went against him (the other one being against Mexican warrior Jose Luis Castillo) and it is unlikely the tough 28-year-old will be at all worried about fighting any of his rivals at 140 pounds.  Ngoudjo has now earned himself a second crack at Malignaggi's world title, let's see if the fight actually happens. source_Eastsideboxing