IBF appoints Ngoudjo and Urango to fill vacant title

18/09/2008

IBF appoints Ngoudjo and Urango to fill vacant title

Edited Press Release: The IBF is unwilling to wait until November when its champion, Paul Malignaggi, will fight Ricky Hatton, the generally accepted world champion at 140 pounds. Malignaggi has agreed to relinquish his title to let others have a championship opportunity and the IBF has ordered two other boxers to compete for the now-vacant belt. Herman Ngoudjo (17-2-0, 9 KOs) will get a second crack at the belt, this time against former titlist Juan Urango (20-1-1, 16 KOs). In an official letter sent to Ngoudjo's promoter Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), and Urango's promoter, Seminole Warriors Boxing, the IBF set an October 18th deadline for GYM and Seminole Warriors Boxing to reach an agreement, or else it will order a purse bid. According to Michel, Ngoudjo, the #1 contender, was willing to wait for the winner of Malignaggi-Hatton, only if the winner would guarantee Ngoudjo a shot at the title. ''We were willing to be paitient and step aside to let Malignaggi defend his belt against Hatton, but we would have to be guaranteed an immediate fight against the winner. We never received that guarantee, so we pushed the IBF to call a purse bid, which forced Malignaggi to vacate his title,'' Michel said.  This past January, in Atlantic City, Ngoudjo gave Malignaggi all he could handle, only to be denied by the judges in a very close but unanimous setback. Ngoudjo quickly earned a second crack at the IBF crown, outpointing former WBA champion Souleymane M'Baye in an IBF title eliminator. Urango is best known for dropping the IBF title to Hatton in January of 2007.