French boxer of Cameroonian origin, Christian Mbele, performed flawlessly against American Alexander Vaughn to win by decision of the judges, Saturday, in Nantes.
The judges issued unequivocal unanimous verdicts in favor of Mbele after 10 rounds, i.e. 100-90, 99-91 and 100-90, reaffirming his place among the elite in the 168lb class.
Mbele (23-0-0, 20 K.-O.), coached by Quebec Mark Ramsey, tried everything to pass K.-O. to his rival, but the latter showed consistent resilience.
Vaughn (17-6-2, 10 KOs) still only lost once via referee stoppage since entering the pros.
The 27-year-old athlete has returned to boxing in France, the country of his adoption 16 years ago, for the first time since December 2019.
For Mbele, this was the last duel before the elimination bout, equivalent to the semi-final of the world championship, against the reigning WBC super middleweight champion, Ali Akhmetov (19-1, 14 K.-O.).
The winner must be given a chance to face Mexican class champion Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 K.-O.).
It was a tough fight. By the seventh round, I had a cramp in my right leg, and every time I wanted to punch hard, it felt like my leg was going to lock up.
“He took the blows really well, which is what we expected. A great fight for him back in France,” added Mbele, who understands that the boxer in action today is much more refined than on his last visit to France.
“The high level is there. Besides, the next fight is going to be very big; WBC elimination for Canelo’s No. 1 contender position. That’s why we’ve stepped up against Vaughn, (…) an experienced boxer who comes from a family of boxing champions. The goal is to get A short or medium term fighting title.”
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“In the sixth round, we were looking for a Quebecer, but he was selected.”