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N’Dam N’Jikam: I trust the WBO to remove Pirog

Phil D. Jay 
WBN Editor
Frenchman expects to receive full title

Interim WBO middleweight champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam remains hopeful that the WBO will install him as full champion after title holder Dmitriy Pirog firstly attempted to avoid fighting him and then suffered a back injury.

Pirog, 32, was ready to fight WBA and IBO belt holder Gennady Golovkin in the United States in August without the permission of the WBO and it was then expected that N’Jikam would be immediately elevated to full status.

The injury to the Russian has now inadvertently meant that the unbeaten fighter keeps his title for the time being, although N’Jikam, who is also undefeated, expects a decision regarding the title to go in his favour.

“There have been rumours that I will be given the title, but I have not heard official word yet,” N’Jikam told World Boxing News.

“It would be only fair because the two times I had arranged to fight him, he pulls out for reasons unknown to me.

“I do not know if it is down to him or his advisors that he attempted to fight for the WBA title, but I trust the impartiality of the WBO to remove Pirog in my favour and only the future will tell us.

“Right now, according my promoter Sebastien Acaries, I am fighting at the end of October and he will decide who I fight - but I am young, thirst for victory and fear nobody.”

The Cameroon-born 28 year-old has big plans to move through the weights on the back of success at middleweight and hopes to face some of the other champions before heading to super-middleweight.

“If I do get the WBO title given to me I will be looking for a unification against Felix Sturm or Julio Cesar Chavez,” confirmed N’Jikam.

“I want to ultimately be a household name in the middleweight division and I could see myself moving up after success at 160lbs to the super middleweight or even light-heavyweight classes as I have no problems of weight.

“I just hope the leaders of the federations (I'm not just talking about the WBO) will put some order in their world titles to make sure fighters can’t avoid other fighters,” he added.

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