By Ian S Palmer
Andrzej Fonfara vs Doudou Ngumbu Preview Nov 1
Light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara of Poland takes on Doudou Ngumbu of the Republic of Congo in a 10-road bout in Chicago this Saturday, November 2. Fonfara came close to capturing the WBC title last May when he dropped a close unanimous decision to champion Adonis Stevenson of Montreal. Fonfara was decked in the first round, but he returned the favour in the ninth. This bout against Ngumbu can be seen on Super Channel in Canada and it will be aired line on the Showtime network in the U.S.
The 32-year-old Ngumbu will be making his North American debut and enters the ring with a record of 33-5 with 12 Kos to his name while the 26-year-old Fonfara has a 25-3 mark with 15 Kos. Fonfara has a 3.5-inch height advantage, but Ngumbu has the edge in experience with 247 pro rounds in the book while Fonfara has boxed 129. Ngumbu’s last bout came back in June when he defeated Johnny Muller by a 10-round unanimous decision.
While Ngumbu has fought more rounds and bouts, there isn’t anybody on his list of opponents who stands out. His five losses came at the hands of Igor Mikhalkin (twice), Nadjib Mohammedi, Pawel Glazewski, and Isaac Chilemba. He’s been stopped once, which was by Mohammedi in the fifth round two years ago. Fonfara’s losses were to Stevenson, Eberto Medina and Derrick Findley, who stopped him in the second round in 2008.
Neither fighter has exceptional knockout power even though Fonfara managed to deck Stevenson. He has a good jab and prefers to fight on the inside even though he’s just over 6-feet-2-inches tall with his right hand being his best punch. Ngumbu has a bit of an awkward style, but possesses a decent jab to keep his opponents off balance. His style makes him hard to hit. He needs to put the pressure on Fonfara though if he’s going to be successful and also needs to show some mobility. He hasn’t done too well when he’s stepped up in class and his lack of power could be one of the reasons for that.
Prediction
Ngumbu and Fonfara are both pretty durable boxers with decent chins. Fonfara has the better skills and power, and is hoping to earn another world title shot. He should get a pretty good workout against his African opponent and needs to stick to boxing instead of trying to brawl with him. Ngumbu shouldn’t be written off since he has just enough in the way of power too be a nuisance. He’s gone the distance with some decent opponents in the past, but hasn’t done enough to beat any of them. It’ll likely be the same scenario on Saturday. Look for Ngumbu to hang around for the 10 rounds, but to come out on the short end of a decision.
