Fonfara: I Think About Stevenson Rematch Every Day

CHICAGO– Hometown favorite Andrzej “The Polish Prince” Fonfara won a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Doudou Ngumbu in the main event of a SHOWTIME BOXING: Special Edition on Saturday from UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Ngumbu came out with a surprisingly aggressive approach, throwing looping, wild shots that kept Fonfara off-balance but rarely landed.  To the delight of his large Polish fan base in attendance, Fonfara landed a huge right shot that dazed Ngumbu in the fifth, forcing him to clinch just to hold on and escape the round.  Ngumbu was in trouble against the ropes with shaky legs, but Fonfara, who claimed he injured his right hand in the fourth round, stepped off the gas and didn’t do enough to finish his opponent.

Fonfara (26-3, 15 KOs) continued to wear down Ngumbu in the second half of the fight with body shots and while Ngumbu (33-6, 12 KOs) seemed to land more punches in the latter rounds, Fonfara’s shots inflicted more damage.

“He came ready, he came here looking for a win,” Fonfara said.  “He had some good punches.  I knew he could counter when I landed with a right, so I had to be a bit careful in there.  But a win is a win.  It was a hard fight for me, but it was good to bounce back from a loss and get a win for my fans.

“I wanted to finish him in the fifth, but I had to be careful that he didn’t catch me with a counterpunch.”

Fonfara, who was looking to bounce back from a close loss to WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Adonis Stevenson, was a heavy favorite against Ngumbu, who fought about just as well as he could.

“Fonfara’s strengths were on display as well as his weaknesses,” said SHOWTIME analyst Steve Farhood.  His strengths were his straight punches, toughness and some wicked left hooks to the body.  But his weaknesses were his lack of head movement and the fact that he stood straight up and got hit too much.  But he remains a very entertaining light heavyweight.”

Fonfara hopes the win moves him one step closer to a rematch with Stevenson.   

“I think about Stevenson every day,” Fonfara said.  “I think I need one more fight before I get a rematch with him.  My defense was better in this fight, but I need to throw more punches and combos to become a complete fighter.”

Ngumbu, who was making his U.S. debut, thought he did enough to pull out the victory.

“I accept the decision, but I’m not happy with it,” Ngumbu said.  “I feel like I should have won.”