Tulz Mbenge looks to make it big through French connection
Tulz Mbenge will take on unbeaten Frenchman Souleymane Cissokho in Nantes, France, on December 17 in a fight that could push the winner close to world title contention, his trainer-manager Sean Smith said.
Mbenge is a 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist while his Senegal-born opponent is a 2016 Olympic bronze medallist.
Both men are 31.
At stake is the WBC’S vacant silver belt, considered a stepping stone to the organisation’s world strap.
Mbenge’s stablemate, Thabiso Mchunu, won the WBC silver cruiserweight belt before challenging Junior Makabu for the world title in early 2022.
But the interesting dynamic at play is that Cissokho, who has campaigned at super-welterweight since turning professional in 2017, even holding the WBA’S Intercontinental title at that weight, is coming down one division.
Should he struggle to make the weight, that will play into the South African’s hands.
Mbenge’s career stalled after losing his marginal IBO welterweight belt in 2019, and though he had notched up four wins since then, including a third-round stoppage of prospect Jabulani Makhense in an eagerly anticipated local matchup, he was not getting enticing offers abroad.
Until now.
Mbenge, ranked seventh in the welterweights by the WBC, has a record of 19 wins (15 KOS) and a single loss, compared to the flawless 15-0 (9) of his opponent, 11th in the WBC’S super-welterweight ratings.
Cissokho is also listed sixth as a super-welterweight by the WBA.
Boxrec.com has Mbenge 13th in the welterweights and Cissokho 21st in the junior-middleweights, another name for super-welterweight.
The welterweight division is one of the standouts in world boxing, with Errol Spence owning the WBC, WBA and IBF titles while Terence Crawford has the WBO strap.