Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (born 18 February 1984) is a Cameroonian-French professional boxer. He has held WBO middleweight title in 2012 and the WBA (Regular) title in 2017, and has challenged once for a super-middleweight world title in 2019.

Amateur career N'dam N'Jikam won a silver medal in the middleweight division at the 2003 All-Africa Games, losing to Ramadan Yasser of Egypt in the final. N'jikam represented Cameroon in the middleweight bracket at the 2004 Olympics, defeating Juan Ubaldo of the Dominican Republic and Andy Lee of Ireland on close countback decisions, but losing in the quarter-finals to eventual gold medallist Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov of Russia.

Following the Olympics, and having no means of boxing professionally in his native Cameroon, N'Jikam moved to France due to the shared language.Fischer, Doug (15 February 2014). "Q&A: Hassan N'dam N'Jikam". The Ring. Retrieved 29 December 2016.

At the 2016 Olympics, professional boxers were permitted to compete at the Olympics for the first ever time. As one of the few professionals who entered, N'Jikam once again represented Cameroon and qualified for the light-heavyweight bracket, but lost in the first round to Michel Borges of Brazil. This was seen as a surprise to many boxing observers, who predicted that amateurs would not fare well against experienced professionals.Associated Press (7 August 2016). "Pro trip: Hassan N'Dam loses opening fight at Rio Olympics". Retrieved 28 December 2016.

Professional career N'Jikam made his professional debut on 4 December 2004, scoring a third-round stoppage against Alexis Culit. On 30 October 2010, having fought mainly in his adoptive France, N'Jikam won the vacant WBA interim middleweight title with a close unanimous decision (117-111, 115-114, 115-114) over Avtandil Khurtsidze at the Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan.LaBate, Chris (30 October 2010). "N'Jikam Decisions Khurtsidze, Wins WBA Interim Title". BoxingScene. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

N'Jikam's only defense of his title was made on 2 April 2011 against Giovanni Lorenzo. He won a wide unanimous decision (119-109, 119-110, 116-111) However, major controversy arose during the fight when N'Jikam was knocked out of the ring by a series of punches from Lorenzo in round five. A WBA official then helped N'Jikam back into the ring, which was against the sanctioning body's rules. Lorenzo's team later argued that this should have been grounds for immediate disqualification, as well as disputing the overly wide scorecards."Lorenzo Protests Decision Loss To Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam". BoxingScene. 15 April 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

A purse bid was ordered between N'Jikam and WBA (Regular) champion Gennady Golovkin. The purse bid was scheduled for 2 February 2012. However, days before the purse bid N'Jikam vacated his title rather than face Golovkin.

On 4 May 2012, N'Jikam won the vacant WBO interim middleweight title via unanimous decision against Max Bursak.Donovan, Jake (4 May 2012). "Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam Tops Max Bursak, Wins Interim Title" BoxingScene. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

He was later promoted to full world champion status on 25 August, after Dmitry Pirog was stripped of the title for choosing to fight Gennady Golovkin instead of mandatory challenger N'Jikam.Stangrit, Gregory (3 September 2012). "Dmitry Pirog Not Surprised WBO Took Away His Title". BoxingScene. Retrieved 28 December 2016. In his first world title defence on 20 October, as well as his first fight in the United States, N'Jikam suffered six knockdowns en route to a unanimous decision loss (107-115, 107-115, 107-115) to Peter Quillin."Peter Quillin beat Hassan N'Dam to become WBO middleweight champion". Sky Sports. Sky. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

N'Jikam won an IBF title eliminator over Curtis Stevens with a unanimous decision (119-108, 116-111, 116-111). Stevens was knocked down in round 8. A second opportunity to become world champion came on 20 June 2015, against David Lemieux for the vacant IBF middleweight title. N'Jikam again endured multiple knockdowns—four in total—but managed to go the distance to lose on the cards (109-115, 109-115, 110-114).Fischer, Doug (21 June 2015). "David Lemieux outslugs Hassan N'Dam to earn IBF middleweight title". The Ring. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

2016 saw N'Jikam reel off four consecutive victories, with a brief pause in August to compete in the 2016 Olympics. On 17 December, he emphatically re-entered the world title scene by becoming WBA interim middleweight champion for a second time, following a brutal one-punch knockout of Alfonso Blanco in only 22 seconds of the first round.Ecksel, Robert (17 December 2016). "Hassan N'Dam KOs Blanco in 22 Seconds". WBA. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

N'Jikam then won the full (Regular) title with a controversial split decision (116-111, 115-112, 110-117) win over Ryōta Murata on 27 May 2017. N'Jikam was knocked down in round 4 but survived and got the decision. When the result was announced, the crowd at Ariake Colosseum jeered. The two judges who scored the fight for N'Jikam were immediately suspended and WBA president Gilberto Mendoza issued a public apology. A rematch was immediately ordered by the WBA,"Boxing-WBA order rematch of N'Dam-Murata title fight". Eurosport. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017. and scheduled for 22 October."Ryota Murata vs. Hassan N'Dam Rematch on October 22". 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.

On 22 October, Murata decisively beat N'Jikam, who threw in the towel after round 7. Murata's body attack wore his opponent down, he was also able to hurt him with a series of combinations. The fight was attended by 8,500 people at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. This was N'Jikam's first stoppage loss.

On 22 December 2018, N'Jikam managed to overcome a knockdown and beat former title-challenger Martin Murray via a majority-decision win. N'Jikam won on the scorecards, 117-112 and 116-112, while the third judge scored the fight a draw, 114-114.

On the Joshua vs Ruiz undercard, N'Jikam fought Callum Smith for his WBA world title. Smith would end up dropping N'Jikam three times. Despite getting up from the third knockdown too, the referee decided to stop the fight and award Smith the victory.

In his next fight, N'Jikam lost again, this time against WBA #1, WBC #6, IBF #8 and WBC #11 Fedor Chudinov in Russia.

On June 8, 2020, N'Jikam announced that he will transition into MMA, signing with French MMA promotion ARES FC.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes44Loss38–6 Janibek AlimkhanulyTKO8 (10), 20 Nov 2021 43Win38–5 Gabor GorbicsUD82 Jul 2021 42Loss37–5 Fedor ChudinovUD1213 Dec 2019 41Loss37–4 Callum SmithTKO3 (12), 1 Jun 2019 40Win37–3 Martin Murray1222 Dec 2018 39Loss36–3 Ryōta MurataRTD7 (12), 22 Oct 2017 38Win36–2 Ryōta Murata1220 May 2017 37Win35–2 Alfonso BlancoKO1 (12), 17 Dec 2016 36Win34–2 Tomasz GargulaTKO7 (8)30 Jul 2016 35Win33–2 Robert ŚwierzbinskiTKO2 (8)27 May 2016 34Win32–2 Patrick MendyUD812 Mar 2016 33Loss31–2 David LemieuxUD1220 Jun 2015 32Win31–1 Curtis StevensUD121 Oct 2014 31Win30–1 Fulgencio ZúñigaUD1016 Apr 2014 30Win29–1 Ricardo Marcelo RamalloTKO4 (10), 15 Feb 2014 29Win28–1 Anthony FitzgeraldUD1014 Dec 2013 28Loss27–1 Peter QuillinUD1220 Oct 2012 27Win27–0 Max BursakUD124 May 2012 26Win26–0 Giovanni LorenzoUD122 Apr 2011 25Win25–0 Avtandil KhurtsidzeUD1230 Oct 2010 24Win24–0 Omar Gabriel WeisKO8 (12)12 Jun 2010 23Win23–0 Cagri ErmisTKO10 (10)10 Dec 2009 22Win22–0 Sergio Jose SandersTKO6 (10)10 Dec 2009 21Win21–0 Jefferson GonçaloUD1024 Oct 2009 20Win20–0 Gennady MartirosyanKO10 (10)27 Jun 2009 19Win19–0 Michael MonaghanTKO7 (8)28 May 2009 18Win18–0 Samir Santos BarbosaTKO4 (10)5 Mar 2009 17Win17–0 Affif BelghechamUD1011 Dec 2008 16Win16–0 Woulid GuarrasKO5 (10)18 Sep 2008 15Win15–0 Mehdi AmarUD815 May 2008 14Win14–0 Eugen StanPTS817 Apr 2008 13Win13–0 Mounir SahliRTD3 (6)21 Feb 2008 12Win12–0 Kamel BelhachemiKO1 (6)24 Jan 2008 11Win11–0 Mike AlgoetUD68 Dec 2007 10Win10–0 Ali BenchablaTKO3 (6)27 Oct 2007 9Win9–0 Mike Algoet629 Jun 2007 8Win8–0 Malkaz Berkatsashvili5 (8)6 Apr 2007 7Win7–0 Vepkhia TchilaiaTKO5 (6)24 Mar 2007 6Win6–0 Zied SassiTKO2 (6)17 Jun 2006 5Win5–0 Pavel Florin Madalin2 (8)24 Feb 2006 4Win4–0 Adrian CerneagaTKO3 (8)31 Oct 2005 3Win3–0 Lubo HantakTKO2 (4)25 Jun 2005 2Win2–0 Didier Nkuku Mupeko84 Feb 2005 1Win1–0 Alexis Culit3 (6)4 Dec 2004

References

External links

2003 All Africa Games results Hassan N'dam N'Jikam - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live