Nordine Oubaali

Nordine Oubaali: A Look at the Moroccan-French Boxer's Career Nordine Oubaali is a French-Moroccan former professional boxer, who competed in the sport from 2014 to 2021. During his career, Oubaali held the WBC bantamweight title from 2019-2021, had one title win, and 17 wins overall, including 12 knockouts, and suffered only one loss in the ring. Early Career Oubaali's professional debut came on March 20, 2014, when he faced Sergey Tasimov. Oubaali won that fight via unanimous decision, the first of 11 straight wins over the next two years. Eight of those victories came by way of stoppage. On June 2, 2017, two years after his debut, Oubaali faced Alejandro Hernandez for the vacant WBC Silver bantamweight title. He won that fight by a tenth-round technical knockout. Oubaali successfully defended his title for the first time against Mark Anthony Geraldo on December 16, 2017, with a seventh-round knockout. On April 7, 2018, he defeated Luis Melendez in a non-title bout with a second-round knockout. WBC Bantamweight Champion Oubaali became the WBC bantamweight champion on January 19, 2019, when he faced Rau'shee Warren for the vacant title. The fight took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Oubaali won by unanimous decision with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. During the fight, Oubaali pressured Warren and controlled the pace. Warren found most success in the fifth, seventh, and eleventh rounds, but Oubaali maintained control throughout. This victory secured Oubaali's status as the new WBC bantamweight champion. In July 2019, Oubaali made the first defense of his WBC bantamweight title against Arthur Villanueva, who was ranked number 15 by the WBC at bantamweight. The fight took place at Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Oubaali was a significant -3500 favorite heading into the bout, while Villanueva came in as a +1200 underdog. Oubaali won the fight by a sixth-round stoppage. The French-Moroccan boxer dominated the fight from the start, causing a swelling to appear above Villanueva's left eye and knocking the Philippine fighter down with an uppercut-right hook combination in the sixth round. Villanueva retired from the fight at the end of the sixth round. In November 2019, Oubaali made his second WBC bantamweight title defense against Takuma Inoue, who was the interim bantamweight champion at the time. Inoue became the mandatory challenger in September 2018, and although he was forced to wait for the result of the Oubaali-Warren fight, he fought and defeated Petch Sor Chitpattana on December 30, 2018, to become the interim WBC bantamweight champion. The fight took place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Oubaali outpointed Inoue to retain his WBC title. He scored the sole knockdown of the fight in the third round when he dropped Inoue with a left hook. Although he was unable to finish his opponent, Oubaali won by a comfortable decision, with scores of 117-110, 120-107, and 115-112. In 2020, Oubaali was scheduled to make his third WBC title defense against Nonito Donaire, a former four-weight world champion. Donaire was ranked number one by the WBC at bantamweight. The fight was originally scheduled for December 12, 2020, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. However, Oubaali withdrew from the fight on November 13 following a positive COVID-19 test. He was replaced by Emmanuel Rodríguez, who was to face Donaire on December 19, 2020. However, Donaire was forced to withdraw from the fight as he had tested positive for COVID-19. The fight between Oubaali and Donaire eventually took place on May 29, 2021, at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, as the main event of the PBC card. Unfortunately, Oubaali lost the fight via a fourth-round knockout. Donaire knocked down Oubaali twice in the third round and then finished him off with a hook-straight-uppercut combination in the fourth round. Retirement After suffering the first loss of his career, Oubaali officially announced his retirement from the sport on April 5, 2022. Oubaali's professional boxing record stands at 17-1, with one title win and 12 knockout wins. Career Highlights Oubaali's career highlights include winning his first world title against Rau'shee Warren in 2019, and during his one-year reign as champ, he successfully defended his title against Takuma Inoue and Arthur Villanueva. Oubaali's professional boxing record consists of 18 fights, 17 wins, and just one loss. Conclusion Nordine Oubaali may have retired from professional boxing, but his career serves as an inspiration to many. His hard work and dedication to the sport led to one world title win, two title defenses, and an overall professional record of 17-1. Oubaali's future may be uncertain, but his legacy within the sport of boxing is set in stone.

Nordine Oubaali Fight Record