Ryad Merhy

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Ryad Merhy
Statistics
Weight(s)Cruiserweight
NationalityBelgian
Born (1992-11-28) 28 November 1992 (age 29)
Ouragahio, Ivory Coast
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights31
Wins30
Wins by KO25
Losses1

Ryad Merhy (born 28 November 1992) is an Ivorian-born Belgian professional boxer who has held the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title since January 2021.[1]

Professional career[]

Early career[]

Born to an Lebanese father and a Ivorian mother,Merhy made his professional debut against Hrvoje Bozinovic on 29 June 2013.[2] He won the fight by a second-round knockout. Merhy amassed a 17-0 record during the next two years, with 14 of those victories coming by way of stoppage, before he was fighting for his first professional title. Merhy faced Sylvera Louis for the vacant WBC Silver International cruiserweight title on 19 December 2015, at the RTL Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium.[3] He won the fight by a sixth-round knockout.[4]

WBA Inter-Continental champion[]

Merhy challenged Williams Ocando for the WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title on 21 May 2016. The twelve-round title bout was scheduled as the main event of an RTL broadcast card that took place at the RTL Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium.[5] Merhy won the fight by a sixth-round technical knockout. He first staggered Ocando with a left hook, before unloading with a flurry of punches which forced referee Jan Christensen to wave the fight off.[6]

After successfully clinching his second professional title, Merhy fought in two non-title bouts. Merhy faced Giorgi Tevdorashvili on 15 October 2016. He beat the over-matched Tevdorashvili by a sixth-round technical knockout.[7] Two weeks later, on 1 November, Merhy beat Tamas Bajzath by a third-round technical knockout.

Merhy made his first WBA Inter-Continental title defense against Max Alexander on 17 December 2016. The fight was once again scheduled as the main event of an RTL broadcast card that took place at the RTL Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium.[8] He won the fight by an eleventh-round knockout.[9] Merhy made his second title defense against Mitch Williams on 20 May 2017, at the same venue and location as his previous two title fights. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 118-110.[10] Merhy made his third title defense against Nick Kisner on 16 December 2017, and was once again broadcast by RTL from the RTL Spiroudome. He won the fight by a fourth-round knockout.[11]

Merhy faced the undefeated #1 ranked WBA cruierweight contender Arsen Goulamirian for the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight title on 24 March 2018. The title fight was scheduled as the main event of a Canal+ broadcast card, and took place at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France.[12] oulamirian won the fight by a technical knockout, stopping Merhy with a combination of unanswered strikes in the eleventh round, after dominating the fight from the very first round.[13]

Pre-title fights[]

Merhy was scheduled to face Soso Abuladze on 29 June 2018. He successfully bounced back from his first professional loss with a sixth-round knockout victory. Merhy next faced Demetrius Banks on 20 October 2018.[14] He won the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 79-74, 80-73 and 80-73.[15]

Merhy faced the 21-4 Samuel Clarkson for the vacant WBA International cruiserweight title on 15 December 2018. The bout was scheduled as the event headliner, and took place at the RTL Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium.[16] He won the fight by a fourth-round knockout.[17] Merhy next faced Cesar David Crenz on 4 May 2019.[18] He won the fight by a third-round knockout.[19]

WBA world cruierweight champion[]

Merhy vs. Szellő[]

Merhy was scheduled to fight Imre Szellő for the vacant WBA interim cruiserweight title on 19 October 2019. The title bout took place at the RTL Spiroudome in Charleroi, just as almost all of his previous title bouts, excepting his fight with Goulamirian.[20] Merhy captured the interim title with a seventh-round knockout of Szellő. The fight was stopped at the 2:10 minute mark of the round, after Merhy had knocked Szellő down twice in the seventh and once in the sixth round.[21]

On January 19, 2021, the WBA withdrew its recognition of the incumbent WBA (Regular) cruiserweight champion Beibut Shumenov, following 30 months of inactivity from him. Accordingly, interim titleholder Ryad Merhy was then promoted to world status, while the current world champion Arsen Goulamirian was promoted to "Super" champion status.[22] As such, Merhy became Belgium’s first boxing champion.[23]

Merhy vs. Zhang[]

After promoting him to world status, the WBA ordered Merhy to make his first title defense against former champion Yuniel Dorticos. However, as Dorticos failed to respond to an offer to fight in Belgium, the WBA allowed Merhy to make a voluntary title defense against the IBO cruiserweight champion Kevin Lerena. The bout was expected to take place on July 17, 2021, at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium.[24] Larena announced his withdrawal from the fight on June 24, due to a hand injury he had suffered in sparring.[25] Larena was replaced by the #14 ranked WBA cruiserweight contender Zhaoxin Zhang, who stepped in on a two-weeks notice.[26] Merhy won the fight by an eight-round technical knockout. He dropped Zhang with a heavy left hook midway through the round, and although Zhang managed to get up, referee Oliver Brien deemed him unable to continue fighting.[27]

Merhy vs. Tischchenko[]

On February 3, 2022, it was announced that Merhy would make his second WBA world title defense against the 2016 Olympics gold medalist Evgeny Tishchenko. The bout was scheduled for March 26, and took place at the RCC Boxing Academy in Yekaterinburg, Russia.[28]

Professional boxing record[]

Professional record summary
31 fights 30 wins 1 loss
By knockout 25 1
By decision 5 0
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
32 N/A N/A Russia Evgeny Tishchenko N/A - (12) 26 Mar 2022 Russia RCC Boxing Academy, Yekaterinburg, Russia Defending WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title
31 Win 30–1 China Zhaoxin Zhang TKO 9 (12), 0:20 17 Jul 2021 Belgium Stade Heysel, Brussels, Belgium Retained WBA (Regular) cruiserweight title
30 Win 29–1 Hungary Imre Szellő KO 7 (12), 2:10 19 Oct 2019 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Won vacant WBA interim cruiserweight title
29 Win 28–1 Argentina Cesar David Crenz KO 3 (10), 0:22 4 May 2019 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium
28 Win 27–1 United States Samuel Clarkson KO 4 (12), 2:38 15 Dec 2018 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Won vacant WBA International cruiserweight title
27 Win 26–1 United States Demetrius Banks UD 8 20 Oct 2018 Belgium Country Hall, Liège, Belgium
26 Win 25–1 Georgia (country) Soso Abuladze KO 6 (8) 29 Jun 2018 Belgium Belleheide Center, Roosdaal, Belgium
25 Loss 24–1 France Arsen Goulamirian TKO 11 (12), 0:51 24 Mar 2018 France Palais des Sports, Marseille, France For WBA interim cruiserweight title
24 Win 24–0 United States Nick Kisner KO 4 (12), 2:30 16 Dec 2017 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Retained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
23 Win 23–0 United States Mitch Williams UD 12 20 May 2017 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Retained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
22 Win 22–0 United States Max Alexander KO 11 (12), 0:18 17 Dec 2016 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Retained WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
21 Win 21–0 Hungary Tamas Bajzath TKO 3 (8) 1 Nov 2016 Belgium Stedelijke Sporthalle, Izegem, Belgium
20 Win 20–0 Georgia (country) Giorgi Tevdorashvili TKO 6 (8) 15 Oct 2016 France Robert Charpentier Sports Complex, Paris, France
19 Win 19–0 Venezuela Williams Ocando TKO 6 (12), 1:15 21 May 2016 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight title
18 Win 18–0 Canada Sylvera Louis KO 6 (12), 1:17 19 Dec 2015 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium Won vacant WBC Silver International cruiserweight title
17 Win 17–0 Portugal Antonio Sousa UD 8 26 Sep 2015 Belgium Hall Omnisports, Rebecq, Belgium
16 Win 16–0 Hungary Attila Palko TKO 2 (6) 31 May 2015 Belgium Zaal Forum, Aalst, Belgium
15 Win 15–0 Latvia Arturs Kulikauskis KO 7 (8), 2:55 4 Apr 2015 Belgium Rebecq, Belgium
14 Win 14–0 Germany Bjoern Blaschke RTD 4 (6), 3:00 14 Mar 2015 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium
13 Win 13–0 Georgia (country) Shalva Jomardashvili TKO 5 (8), 2:10 25 Dec 2014 Belgium Izegem, Belgium
12 Win 12–0 Ghana Ben Nsafoah KO 4 (8), 1:47 6 Dec 2014 Belgium RTL Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium
11 Win 11–0 Hungary Ferenc Zsalek UD 4 15 Nov 2014 Belgium Sporthal Bourgoyen, Ghent, Belgium
10 Win 10–0 France Cedric Kalonji KO 3 (8), 0:45 3 Oct 2014 Belgium Topsporthal Vlaanderen, Ghent, Belgium
9 Win 9–0 Belgium Abdelhadi Hanine KO 1 (8) 31 May 2014 Belgium Ninove, Belgium
8 Win 8–0 Georgia (country) Paata Berikashvili TKO 3 (6) 28 Mar 2014 Belgium Topsporthal Vlaanderen, Ghent, Belgium
7 Win 7–0 Croatia Elvir Behlulovic KO 2 (4), 2:41 9 Feb 2014 Belgium City of Brussels, Belgium
6 Win 6–0 Austria Patrick Berger KO 2 (4), 2:08 11 Jan 2014 Belgium Country Hall, Liège, Belgium
5 Win 5–0 Croatia Toni Visic KO 3 (6) 14 Dec 2013 Belgium Belleheide Center, Roosdaal, Belgium
4 Win 4–0 Poland Jakub Wojcik UD 4 23 Nov 2013 Belgium Parc des Sports, Charleroi, Belgium
3 Win 3–0 Croatia Marko Martinjak RTD 2 (4), 3:00 5 Oct 2013 Belgium Andenne Arena, Andenne, Belgium
2 Win 2–0 Bulgaria Nikolai Ermenkov KO 1 (6) 23 Aug 2013 Belgium Kursaal, Ostend, Belgium
1 Win 1–0 Croatia Hrvoje Bozinovic KO 2 (4), 0:48 29 Jun 2013 Belgium Ninove, Belgium

See also[]

  • List of cruiserweight boxing champions

References[]

  1. ^ "BoxRec: Ryad Merhy". boxrec.com. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  2. ^ Belga (20 December 2015). "Ryad Merhy met Sylvera «Sly» Louis k.o au 6e round (Vidéo)". gad-distribution.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Le Québécois Sylvera Louis s'incline devant Ryad Merhy à Charleroi en Belgique". rds.ca. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  4. ^ Belga (20 December 2015). "Ryad Merhy met Sylvera «Sly» Louis k.o au 6e round (Vidéo)". lavenir.net. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  5. ^ Monbaillu, Laurent (18 May 2016). "Ryad Merhy: "La ceinture WBA reste ici"". dhnet.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Ryad Merhy : Mise aux poings". wawamagazine.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. ^ Belga News (16 October 2016). "Vingtième victoire consécutive pour Merhy". rtbf.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. ^ Hainaut, David (8 December 2016). "Boxe: Ryad Merhy contre Max Alexander". moustique.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Boxe: Ryad Merhy défend sa ceinture WBA". lacapitale.sudinfo.be. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Ryad Merhy s'impose face à l'Américain Mitch Williams et grimpe dans le top 5 mondial". bx1.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  11. ^ Frédéric, De Laminne (17 December 2017). "VIDÉOS | Ryad Merhy observe Nick Kisner puis le met KO". lavenir.net. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  12. ^ Loiseau, Hadrien. "Boxe : Arsen Goulamirian VS Ryad Merhy". moustique.be. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Boxe: le Belge Ryad Merhy, battu par Arsen Goulamirian, loupe le titre de champion du monde WBA lourds-légers". lesoir.be. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Ryad Merhy face à Demetrius Banks pour «retrouver les sommets»". lavenir.net. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Boxe : le Bruxellois Ryad Merhy remporte son combat face à l'Américain Demetrius Banks". bx1.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  16. ^ Random Hits (14 December 2018). "Samuel Clarkson vs. Ryad Merhy in Charleroi, Belgium". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Ryad Merhy vs. Samuel Clarkson: K.o.-Maschinen im Titelduell". ran.de. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  18. ^ Bonfigli, Emiliano; Avengazar, Maxime (3 May 2019). "Boxe: l'ancien champion d'Argentine Cesar David Crenz se dresse sur la route de Ryad Merhy (vidéo)". rtl.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  19. ^ Manu Salvé (16 April 2019). "Boxe: le prochain adversaire de Ryad Merhy est connu". lanouvellegazette.sudinfo.be. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Merhy-Szello WBA Belgium presser". fightnews.com. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  21. ^ BoxingScene Staff (19 October 2019). "Ryad Merhy Blasts Out Imre Szello To Capture WBA Interim Title". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Shumenov stripped, Merhy named WBA cruiser champ". fightnews.com. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Ryad Merhy becomes Belgium's first world boxing champion". brusselstimes.com. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  24. ^ Persson, Ake (5 May 2021). "Ryad Merhy vs. Kevin Lerena in Play For July 17 in Brussels, Belgium". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  25. ^ Persson, Ake (24 June 2021). "Kevin Lerena Injures Hand, Withdraws From Ryad Merhy Clash". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  26. ^ Persson, Ake (2 July 2021). "Ryad Merhy vs. Zhaoxin Zhang Set For July 17 in Brussels". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  27. ^ BoxingScene Staff (18 July 2021). "Ryad Merhy Stops Zhaoxin Zhang in Eight, Jerusalem Wins OPBF Title". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  28. ^ Persson, Per Ake (3 February 2022). "Ryad Merhy vs. Evgeny Tischchenko: WBA Title Clash on March 26 in Ekaterinburg". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.

External links[]

Sporting positions
World boxing titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Arsen Goulamirian 		WBA cruiserweight champion
Interim title
19 October 2019 – 29 January 2021
Promoted 		Title discontinued
Preceded by WBA cruiserweight champion
Regular title
29 January 2021 – present 		Incumbent
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