Yves Ngabu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 5 December 1988 Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Cruiserweight |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) [1] |
| Boxing record [2] | |
| Total fights | 26 |
| Wins | 23 |
| Wins by KO | 17 |
| Losses | 2 |
| No contests | 1 |
Yves Ngabu (born 5 December 1988) is a Belgian-Congolese professional boxer who is the current IBO World Cruiserweight champion after his win over Australian boxer Floyd Masson in september 2023. He also held the European cruiserweight title from 2017 to 2019.
Ngabu made his professional debut on 13 June 2011, scoring a four-round unanimous decision (UD) victory over Jessy Moreaux at Brielpoort in Deinze, Belgium. [3]
After compiling a record of 8–0 (6 KOs) he defeated Christophe Dufaux on 21 June 2014 in Lichtervelde, Belgium, capturing the vacant Belgian cruiserweight title via second-round technical knockout (TKO). [4] After five more wins, four by stoppage, he won his second professional title, defeating Engin Karakaplan on 11 November 2015 in Zwevezele, Belgium, capturing the vacant WBC Francophone cruiserweight title via first-round knockout (KO). [5]
Following two eight-round UD victories – against Isosso Mondo in June [6] and Alexander Kubich in November 2016 [7] – Ngabu was scheduled to face Geoffrey Battelo for the vacant European cruiserweight title on 4 June 2017 in Roeselare, Belgium. Battelo was forced to withdraw through injury after being involved in a car accident, [8] prompting Mirko Larghetti to step in as a replacement. However, after Larghetti was also forced to withdraw two weeks before the bout with an illness, Tamas Lodi was brought in as a late replacement. Ngabu knocked Lodi down in the fourth round before the referee called a halt to the contest, handing Ngabu the European title via fourth-round TKO. [9]
He made two successful defences of the title – a third-round TKO against Geoffrey Battelo in January 2018 [10] and a UD against Micki Nielsen in February 2019 [11] – before facing former British and Commonwealth cruiserweight champion, Lawrence Okolie, on 26 October 2019 at The O2 Arena in London. Ngabu post his title via seventh-round TKO after a left-hook right-hand combination [12] sent Ngabu stumbling across the ring, prompting referee Robert Laine to step in and halt the contest. [13]
| 26 fights | 23 wins | 2 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 17 | 1 |
| By decision | 6 | 1 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Win | 23–2 (1) | Kevin Martinez | RTD | 6 (12), 3:00 | 29 Jun 2024 | Hotel Pullman, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo | Retained IBO cruiserweight title |
| 25 | Win | 22–2 (1) | Floyd Masson | TKO | 6 (12), 2:32 | 9 Sep 2023 | Eatons Hill Hotel, Eatons Hill, Australia | Won IBO cruiserweight title |
| 24 | Loss | 21–2 (1) | Evgeny Tishchenko | SD | 10 | 6 May 2023 | KRK Uralets, Ekaterinburg, Russia | |
| 23 | NC | 21–1 (1) | Brandon Deslaurier | NC | 4 (10), 3:00 | 7 Jun 2022 | Hotel Westin, Paris, France | For vacant WBO cruiserweight title |
| 22 | Win | 21–1 | Giorgi Kopadze | KO | 1 (6), 2:05 | 22 Apr 2022 | Ledegem, Belgium | |
| 21 | Loss | 20–1 | Lawrence Okolie | TKO | 7 (12), 2:28 | 26 Oct 2019 | The O2 Arena, London, England | Lost European cruiserweight title |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Micki Nielsen | UD | 12 | 16 Feb 2019 | Sporthal Schiervelde, Roeselare, Belgium | Retained European cruiserweight title |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Geoffrey Battelo | TKO | 3 (12) | 27 Jan 2018 | Arenahal, Deurne, Belgium | Retained European cruiserweight title |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Tamas Lodi | TKO | 4 (12) | 4 Jun 2017 | Roeselare, Belgium | Won vacant European cruiserweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Alexander Kubich | UD | 8 | 11 Nov 2016 | Sporthal De zwaluw, Zwevezele, Belgium | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Isossa Mondo | UD | 8 | 4 Jun 2016 | Sporthal Schiervelde, Roeselare, Belgium | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Engin Karakaplan | KO | 1 (12), 2:46 | 11 Nov 2015 | Zwevezele, Belgium | Won vacant WBC Francophone cruiserweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Peter Erdos | TKO | 3 (8) | 26 Sep 2015 | Hooglede, Belgium | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Gabriel Lacrosnier | TKO | 4 (8) | 28 Feb 2015 | Ghelamco Arena, Ghent, Belgium | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Cedric Kalonji | RTD | 2 (8), 3:00 | 25 Dec 2014 | Izegem, Belgium | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Antoine Boya | KO | 8 (8), 1:45 | 11 Nov 2014 | Zwevezele, Belgium | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Sylvain Luce | UD | 8 | 27 Sep 2014 | Zaal Ogierlande, Hooglede, Belgium | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Christophe Dufaux | TKO | 2 (10) | 21 Jun 2014 | Lichtervelde, Belgium | For vacant Belgian cruiserweight title |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Fabrice Clement | KO | 3 (8) | 20 Apr 2014 | Zwevezele, Belgium | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Viktor Szalai | TKO | 1 (8), 2:13 | 13 Dec 2013 | Aalst, Belgium | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Attila Makula | TKO | 3 (6) | 11 Nov 2013 | Zwevezele, Belgium | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Carlos Torres Suarez | TKO | 4 (6), 2:15 | 15 Jun 2013 | Sporthall, Lichtervelde, Belgium | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Astrando Arduin | TKO | 5 (6) | 25 Dec 2012 | Izegem, Belgium | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Ruslan Bitarov | TKO | 1 (6) | 29 Jun 2012 | Moorslede, Belgium | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Antonio Manuel | UD | 6 | 24 Jun 2011 | Feesttent, Torhout, Belgium | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Jessy Moreaux | UD | 4 | 13 Jun 2011 | Brielpoort, Deinze, Belgium |
His parents emigrated to Belgium from the Democratic Republic of Congo when his father, professional footballer Jean-Pierre Mbemba-Ngabu, was signed by R.S.C. Anderlecht; he later played for K.S.V. Roeselare during the time he was born. [14]
Yves played in the lower leagues of Belgian football with KSKV Zwevezele as a forward. [14] [15]