Boxing: Bariko and Cissé keep their French titles

Two French professional boxing titles stayed with their holders on Saturday 17 October. In Blois, Ephrem Bariko retained his middleweight belt for the third time after the fight was stopped on an injury in round 7 against Amin Benchia. In Aulnay-sous-Bois, Kaoussou Cissé kept the super-featherweight title with an eighth-round knockout of Anthony Deloffre. The French Boxing Federation published both reports on Sunday.

In Blois, a cut ends the fight

Bariko (17 wins, 1 loss) was boxing at home: licensed in Châteauroux, he lives in Blois and speaks of two home clubs. Against Benchia (9 wins, 2 losses), the champion says he dropped his opponent before the fight was stopped in round 7 on a cut to the challenger, which needed seven stitches. Benchia blames a clash of heads and is asking for a rematch over eight or ten rounds; he felt he was getting stronger from round 5.

Bariko, ranked 13th in Europe, says he is optimistic about what comes next. He is targeting the EBU Silver belt, then the European title in the division.

In Aulnay, three knockdowns before the stoppage

At the Pierre-Scohy hall, Kaoussou Cissé (10 wins, 2 losses) first had to absorb an aggressive start from Anthony Deloffre (11 wins, 6 losses, 1 draw). In round 2 the champion found openings on the counter and put his opponent down twice. Deloffre kept coming back round after round with good rear-hand shots. In round 8, Cissé stepped back from a body attack and landed a right uppercut to the face: heavy nosebleed, a third knockdown, and the referee stopped the fight. Deloffre was taken to hospital as a precaution, with nothing serious found.

The champion had an eventful weigh-in: a faulty scale first showed him 300 grams over the limit, and he ran for about fifteen minutes on a treadmill before stepping back on. After the fight, Deloffre's corner congratulated the winner and summed up the evening in one line: there was no animosity, it was sport and nothing else.

These two national belts, awarded under the federation's authority, are a stepping stone to the EBU's European titles. A week earlier, on 10 October in Montauban, Theo Ticout took that step by winning the EBU Silver flyweight belt, and Gaëtan Ntambwe became French cruiserweight champion in Saint-Nazaire.