Frenchman Michel Mothmora is the new World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental Middleweight Champion after winning the vacant title on Friday night, March 27, with a sixth round stoppage of Germany’s Baker Barakat in Loiret, France.
It was a high-paced affair from the start, as Barakat came out looking for a knockout from the first bell, and Mothmora had to be active to prevent the visitor from taking control of the fight. However, albeit the better boxer of the two, Mothmora often allowed Barakat to come into range to trade punches.
Both fighters gave and took loads of punches, and in the first few rounds, of what was a very exiting fight, it was anybody’s guess who would come out on top. Adding to the drama, both suffered a cut over one eye in round four after an accidental head-clash.
In round five it was all still up in the air, but in the sixth Mothmora clearly looked the strongest of the two and overwhelmed Barakat with a flurry of punches that sagged him on the ropes and prompted referee Christophe Hembert to correctly wave the fight off at 2:25 of the round.
With 1200 happy and loud spectators ringside at a sold-out Salle du Lievre d´Or, the new WBF Intercontinental Middleweight champion improved his rather misleadingly modest professional record to 27-23 (10), and Syrian-born Barakat drops to 41-18-4 (28).
The show was promoted by Ring Giennois, headed by Michel Chagnoux.
