On Friday night, April 27, in French port-city Calais, Ali Yammouni excited his home-town fans with a thrilling victory over Georgian late substitute Jaba Shalutashvili to win the vacant World Boxing Federation (WBF) International Middleweight title. It could only be described as an all-out brawl between two boxers with little defense, as they took turns wobbling each-other in almost every round. With very few jabs or faints, it was power-punches galore from start to finish.
Yammouni, who got the better of most exchanges, floored Shalutashvili in the second round with a short right uppercut, but the Georgian beat the count of referee Mohamed Hireche and gamely fought back. It was the only knock-down of the fight, and it went all ten rounds and to the scorecards.
Judges Christophe Hembert and Jens Uwe Baum both scored it 97-92, while Edward Marshall had it 99-90, all for 36-year-old Yammouni who improved his professional record to 11-6 (3). Shalutashvili (29) drops to 25-21-1 (13).
On the same night, WBF Mexican Lightweight Champion William Zepeda made a successful first defense of his title in Culiacan, fending off the challenge of Pedro Solis Rodrigues on a show promoted by Straight Jab Promotions and Jaime Picos.
Zepeda was on the front foot from round one, and relentlessly pressured his foe with effective punches to both body and head. It was all over in round five, when the referee had seen enough and stopped a completely overwhelmed Rodriguez, still on his feet but trapped in a corner.
Only twenty-one years old, “Camaron” Zepeda is quickly making a name for himself with his all-action style, as he impressively took his ledger to 14-0 (12). Pedro “Latigo” Solis Rodriguez (25), game but out-gunned, is now 9-4 (5).