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Former WBF Intercontinental
Light Welterweight Champion
Yvan
Mendy (30) from France is an
unusual edition to the series.
He is still active and arguably
in his prime, and recently
scored the biggest victory of
his career which is why he was
chosen for this months feature.
Mendy turned professional to
little fanfare in March 2006, on
a small show in Soissons,
France, stopping Faisal Bahache
(0-8) in the second round.
Although against very limited
opposition, he had an active
first year in the paid ranks,
and entered 2007 at 7-0 (4) and
ready for bigger challenges.
Nicknamed “The Lion”, his second
year as a pro got off to an
excellent start as Mendy stopped
fellow prospect Akim Mehadji
(5-1-1) in three, and he slowly
but surely established himself
near the top of the list of
French prospects, and as someone
to watch.
A No-Contest with Mourad Sabry
El Malki (5-2-1) was the only
blemish on his record after
thirteen bouts, and when he
received a spot on a big show
televised by Eurosport in May of
2008, it was a major opportunity
to get his name across to
millions of viewers throughout
Europe.
But things didn’t pan out quite
as Mendy and his handlers had
hoped. While journeyman
Abdoulaye Soukouna (7-6-4) was
coming off a draw with 20-1
former French champion Jean
Nicolas Weigel, he was a foe
that Mendy was expected to beat,
and beat convincingly.
But it wasn’t to be, and the
cagey Soukouna had too many
tricks in his bag for Mendy and
won a deserved unanimous
decision. It was a major setback
for “Le Lion”, and Soukouna
would later prove to be a ghost
that had his number and
continued to haunt him.
Fortunately for Mendy there was
still belief in his potential,
and when he finally returned to
the ring almost a year later he
regained some of the lost
momentum when he stopped former
Bulgarian champion and European
title-challenger Kirkor Kirkorov
(28-22) inside two rounds.
He continued to rebuild with
four more victories in 2009, and
adding the solid scalps of tough
Nicaraguan Bismarck Alfaro
(11-9) and Georgian Beka Sadjaja
(20-9-1) to start 2010, earned
him a fight with always-tough
and game Irishman Peter McDonagh
(15-16) for the vacant WBF
Intercontinental Light
Welterweight crown.
McDonagh´s record was deceiving,
to say the least, and in his
previous outing he had defeated
French Light Welterweight
champion Christopher Sebire. His
CV was a regular who’s-who of
big names, and his only loss
inside the distance came by
injury in a fight for the EU
title.
A two-division Southern Area
champion and former Irish
champion, McDonagh also held
wins over former British
champion Michael Gomez (32-6)
and future British titlist Lee
Purdy (9-0-1), and would go on
to defeat Curtis Woodhouse
(14-1) before the former pro
footballer won the British
championship.
And Mendy rose to the occasion,
on June 4 2010 in Oise, France,
putting on a disciplined
performance to win his first
title by unanimous decision with
scores of 119-113 and 117-112
twice. Now the WBF
Intercontinental champion, he
had proved that the continued
belief in him was not in vein,
and the future looked brighter
than ever.
Six months later he successfully
defended the WBF title by
out-scoring Ugandan Olympian and
African champion Sam Rukundo
(15-2-1) at the same venue, and
when the opportunity to get
revenge against his sole
conqueror, Abdoulaye Soukouna
(12-10-5), presented itself in
early 2011, Mendy was again
considered the favorite.
On April Fools Day the old
rivals squared off for
Soukouna´s French title, and,
while he did better than the
first time, Mendy didn’t come
out on top. One judge scored it
a near landslide (98-92) for the
defending champion, and two
judges had it even 95-95, making
the fight a majority draw.
A rematch was quickly arranged
for two months later, but again
Soukouna proved to be all wrong
for Mendy who lost a unanimous
decision. But thankfully he had
held on to his WBF title, and
after one interim victory he got
back on track with a second
defense against Belgian Tarik
Madni (15-2) the following
December.
Mendy stopped Madni in four
rounds to retain the WBF
Intercontinental title, but it
would turn out to be his last
title-defense. He won his next
three fights, before losing on
points to future WBC world
champion Viktor Postol (18-0) in
Ukraine.
Obviously there was no shame in
getting out-pointed by Postol,
and Mendy came back strong after
he moved down to Lightweight and
won the French title by
dethroning Marvin Petit (13-0-1)
in June of 2013. Four defenses
of that belt put him in line for
a crack at the European crown,
but he lost on points to Edis
Tatli (24-1) in April 2015.
After wins over journeymen Felix
Lora (18-15-5) and Reynaldo Mora
(7-5-1), Mendy was picked as
nothing more than a tough but
beatable challenge for 2012
Olympic champion, and defending
WBC International Lightweight
ruler, Luke Campbell (12-0) in
December of 2015, but the
Frenchman didn’t read the
script.
A determined Mendy came out
strong from the start and used
his superior physique to, at
times, manhandle the highly
rated and skilled Campbell. A
knock-down in round five
eventually proved to seal the
deal for the underdog, who
deservedly won a split decision
by scores of 115-112, 115-113
and 113-115.
With a record of 33-4-1 (16),
and with his most impressive
victory clear in memory, Yvan
Mendy could be in line for many
big fights in the future. A
rematch with Campbell or even a
shot at world glory is
undoubtedly strong
possibilities, and now everybody
will know how good the man from
Pont-Sainte-Maxence is.
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