Sofiane Oumiha juggles between the amateur and professional worlds and it succeeds for him. The Frenchman (28 years old, 1.78 m) has signed for two professional fights between now and December, he won the first this Saturday in Monaco. With this victory by throwing in the towel in the sixth round against the Argentinian Nicolas Ariel Blanco, the Toulouse native raised his record to four victories – including three before the limit – in the professional rings. This new success gave him the WBA-Continental lightweight belt.
The Toulousain will seek to maintain his invincibility in December. Before switching back to amateur boxing. Already a three-time amateur world champion, Oumiha added European Games gold in -63.5 kg to his list of achievements last July. He took the opportunity to win his ticket for the Olympic Games. Silver medalist at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, all he needs is Olympic gold to harmonize his trophy cabinet.
“It’s easier to go from amateur to professional than the other way around,” he told us in August. It’s mostly physical work that needs to be done. When you do the opposite, it goes too quickly, you really have to get your boxing back. » Sofiane Oumiha will therefore have a big challenge to take on to propel himself towards Paris 2024. “From January, I will have almost seven months to return to amateur boxing before the Olympics and find the style that allows me to win”, had -he completed.
If he needed barely six rounds to triumph over Ariel Blanco, Oumiha could have fought ten on Saturday, where the Olympic format only has three rounds of three minutes. The pace is also much more intense among the amateurs. In Monaco, he forced his opponent to kneel on the ground in the fourth round.
