Ringside Report Takes a Closer Look at Boxer Yvan Mendy – Boxing News

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

A nemesis is a name you shudder at the speaking thereof; someone to whom you owe a debt not worth paying. We often hear of them as being the guy or gal who someone we value cannot get out of their head or that they are unable to beat. The cliché is that they live in their enemies’ head rent free.

They haunt…

For Luke Campbell, that name was Yvan Mendy, 46-5-1, 22 KO’s.

An orthodox Parisian lightweight/super lightweight, Mendy was the name on Campbell’s lips and commentator’s mentions of his progress for so long that a rematch seemed almost like an anti-climax.

But a rematch there had to be.

Of Senegalese descent he fits within that culture of colonialism that European nations have ploughed for sporting heroes as much as it used to do for mineral wealth. His career has hit certain heights and Mendy has managed to accrue the French title and the European title in his time as well as managing to gain a fair number of belts from quite an alphabet’s worth of boxing’s regulatory bodies.

Mendy turned pro with a second-round stoppage win in France against Faisal Bahache on the 25th of March 2006. Perhaps due to the lack of promotional heft in mainland Europe it took him four years to earn a title. He beat Irishman, Peter McDonagh in Pont-Sainte-Maxence on the 4th of June 2010, for the World Boxing Federation intercontinental super lightweight crown on points. He successfully defended it on the 1oth December the same year on points, at the same venue as when he won it, against Sam Rukundo.

The French super lightweight title was his next target the following year as he took on Abdoulaye Soukouna, twice. The first fight, in Pont-Sainte-Maxence saw them with a split decision draw in April, and a rematch in June, at Thourotte, ended with Soukouna taking the title on points. Later in that year, 2011, he once again defended his WBF title, in Thourotte, against Tarik Madni with a 4th round knockout.

In 2012, on the 27th June, he faced his biggest and sternest test when he was in Kiev to face Victor Postol for the WBC international silver title. He stayed until the end of the twelfth round but was well beaten.

His pursuit of the French title continued and in 2013 he won it on the 14th June 2013 at Poissy when he outpointed Marvin Petit. He went on to defend it four times: stopping Sebastian Benito in the eighth round in November 2013, winning on points against Sylvain Chapelle in January 2014, stopping Sebastien Benito in a rematch in the second round in May 2014, on points in October 2014 when he beat Aboubeker Bechelaghem at Breuil de Sec.

Next – the European title.

In Helsinki, he faced Edis Tatli and again lasted the distance but was, once again beaten on points and once again beaten by a distance. The stage was set for a showdown with Luke Campbell and the smart thinking was that Campbell would step up and take down the Frenchman. Nobody explained that to Mendy. Mendy dropped Campbell in the fifth and went on to win by split decision. It was a fair result.

For British boxing fans, we soon got over the shock and Campbell, was to take some steps back but ultimately, he was to progress onwards. It was a blip, a slip and nothing more.
Whilst Campbell regrouped, by 2016 Mendy had won the WBC belt, stopping Samir Kasmi in the ninth, the European title, on points against Francesco Patera.

Then came the IBF intercontinental win against Massimiliano Ballisai in Paris in November 2016, knocking him out in the fifths and the WBC silver title with a points win over Javier Jose Clavero in June 2017, defending it in December against Jesus Arevalo.

To be fair, the confidence that Mendy showed when he was in the UK for the rematch with Campbell was appearing justified. He looked a far better prospect heading into the rematch than he had when he was up for the first fight. Many warned that this was no straight forward rematch.

Campbell made no mistake and took the revenge with a unanimous points win at Wembley in September 2018.

Campbell put himself back on the world title trail whilst Mendy continued to getting some more silverware. In 2019 he got his hands on the WBA intercontinental title when he stopped Hakim Ben Ali in the eighth round and defended it in the same year against Diego Fabian Eliglio.

In 2019 he won the WBA Gold World title, with a sixth-round knockout of Jaider Parra and whilst he ahs boxed twice in 2020, has not had that belt up as a defense.

Mendy may have accrued a number of the minor belts, including one minor organization, but he added his name to the history of former Olympic champions who, although they showed great promise, once in the pre ranks, found that life isn’t so easy and there is a nemesis or two awaiting your every head move…

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