TOKYO (AP) WBA middleweight interim champion Hassan N’Dam survived a fourth-round knockdown on Saturday and went on to a split-decision win over Japan’s Ryota Murata.
The crowd at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo jeered after the decision making N’Dam the regular WBA middleweight champ was announced. Two judges scored 116-111 and 115-112 to the French boxer, but one judge gave the fight to Murata at 117-110.
Murata, who won gold at the London Olympics, was making his first world title challenge.
Murata kept edging N’Dam toward the ropes, often landing straights and bringing him down in the fourth.