This Saturday in Levallois (Hauts-de-Seine), Yvan Mendy, the boxer of BCO Pont Sainte-Maxence, faces the Argentinian Miguel Cesario Antin without a title in play. Before this 52nd pro fight (45V, 5D, 1N), his wife, older brother, assistant coach and club president explain who the “Lion” is.
“He is stubborn”, assures his wife Karima
They have been together “for 15 years”. Married religiously for ten years, and civilly in 2020. Karima Mendy knows the boxer by heart, with whom she has three daughters, Maïssa (9 years), Amina (4 years) and Aïda (2 years). “He’s a simple and generous person, always there to help,” she says. He has a positive attitude, he always sees the bright side in people, in situations. But he also has his grumpy side. He knows it, he won’t be surprised to read it. He is also stubborn. I admire him for his tenacity, you need it in this world. ” An obstinacy which is obviously a force gloves to the fists, but which is also felt outside the ring. Like when the boxer never stopped having a dog. “At first, I wasn’t for it, but I let go,” smiles Karima. Today, Mystik, a staffie, is part of the family. Yvan had a bird life. ” A parakeet. “It was coming over his hand, over his shoulder,” says Karima. He read books, he educated her well. Now it’s the hens, I don’t know what it will be after … ”The boxer has indeed built a henhouse recently. “Yvan is not at all a handyman at the base, slips his wife, but now he is gradually becoming one. In fact, he does focus. As soon as he has an idea in mind, he gives himself the means, puts all his energy into it and goes to the end. “
“He is a relentless”, according to his big brother Karl
A year separates them, their tone of voice is identical. Karl Mendy, born in 1984, and his little brother grew up side by side. “We were at school together,” recalls the elder. We had the same circle of friends. Yvan and I have always been close. Small, the two brothers admired the same boxers. “Jean-Baptiste Mendy, slips Karl. We also watched Christophe Tiozzo, Mahyar Monshipour, Prince Naseem Hamed, Mohamed Ali, Mike Tyson. We followed all the grown-ups, we watched them, we wanted to be like them. Yvan continued. “I did boxing but my level was not great, smiles Karl. I am a little less determined than my brother. It’s very, very hard, boxing. And Yvan already had something more. “He’s my little brother but I didn’t dare fight with him, for example,” Karl laughs. He was already the strongest, I knew he was crazy and could knock me out. He has a winning temperament, always this rage to win. When we were little, in our card games and on consoles, or in life. He’s a sore loser. He likes winning, he’s a relentless one. “
“As soon as he enters the locker room, he changes,” assures his childhood friend Hakim Laribi
He is now assistant to Giovanni Boggia, head of BCOP, and childhood friend of Yvan Mendy with whom he grew up in the Terriers district. “Yvan, he’s a golden guy,” says Hakim Laribi. I always take the comparison with Ngolo Kante. Yvan is the little elf, nice, always smiling. But as soon as he enters the locker room, he becomes the Lion (Editor’s note: his nickname). It’s a metamorphosis. The values we have are thanks to the club. Giovanni was like a second dad. My father and Yvan’s had given him full powers if we went wrong. I was a bit of a wanker too (sic). We got robbed by Giovanni, he was blowing our lungs. “
“He is extremely kind”, confides his club president Franck Dourlans
President of BCOP, Franck Dourlans rubs shoulders with the lightweight as a pro boxer but also as an educator at the club. “He is really in life as he is in the ring, a real hard worker, someone complete and extremely kind, assures Dourlans. People who don’t know him would find it hard to imagine him as a fighter, with a track record he has, whose job it is to hit people. He is humble but at the same time very conscientious. “
