Nadjib "Iron Djib" Mohammedi

This handsome denizen of Bouches-du-Rhône by way of Bordj-Menaiel is mounting a comeback this Saturday, nearly two years after knocking out Mevludin Čoković (aka "Konni Konrad") for the IBF's light heavyweight Euro title. His opponent is still TBA.

If he is still the gym-rat he consistently proved to be for a decade through his last time in the ring (and given that he is training young French boxers full time prior to reentering camp for himself, safe bet), he could still be a force at his pick of either 168 or 175lbs. Paths exist in both divisions for him to finally nab that elusive world championship - although in both cases, they'd be long shots.

I could see him a) going the WBA or WBO route at light heavy (gunning for the vacant 'regular' belt in the former, as he could maybe scrape past Badou Jack with a bit of luck, or the usual judges' antipathy for the poor Gambian-Swede - or targeting Joe Smith Jr. in the latter, a contest which gun to my head is a 50-50 split proposition of either Mohammedi getting a wide UD, or getting brutally KTFO by Smith, all depending on whether a giant shot lands flush or not over twelve) ...or b) returning to super middle, cashing in on his previous good standing with the IBF and getting ranked in a fight or two (victory in a rematch over #3 ranked Evgeny Shvedenko would certainly help) to get a crack at Caleb Plant, assuming Sweet Hands is still in possession of that strap and hasn't fumbled the last slice of unification pie into a pair of cinnamon hands...)

For those scratching their heads and going "wtf are you talking about IB, who is this guy? ", you better get hip and put some respect on le nom de Djib.

Titles held:

• WBA Continental Super Middleweight Title (201
• WBC Francophone Super Middleweight Title (2016)
• WBA Continental Light Heavyweight Title (2013)
• WBF World Light Heavyweight Title (2012)
• WBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Title (2011-12)
• EBU-EU (European Union) Light Heavyweight Title (2010)
• France Light Heavyweight Title (2008-09, 2013)

Even without having captured top-shelf gold, he is on the bubble for consideration in the p4p top ten fighters ever trained by the legendary Abel Sánchez. All of the following have been champs, some of them lineal:

1. Gennady Gennadyevich "Triple Gee" Golovkin
2. Murat Georgievich "The Iron" Gassiev
   
3. Terence Wayne "Terrible Terry" Norris
4. Nana Yaw Konadu Yeboah
   
5. Isaías Guadalupe "Lupe" Aquino
   
6. Miguel Ángel "El Mago/Santa Tokyo" González Dávila
   
7. Orlin Levance "Night Train" Norris
8. Arsen "Feroz" Goulamirian
   
9. Zaurbek Musaevich Baysangurov
   
10. Carlos Manuel "Tata" Baldomir

Of the remainder, I'd say the clever, tricky, and mentally double-tough but shaky-chinned Mohammedi can be said to at least stand even with the likes of Serhii Bohachuk, Luis Carlos Abregú, Sullivan Barrera, Ryan Martin, Alex Saucedo, Jesus Salud, Denis Shafikov, and even Sam Peter (yes, he was the WBC heavyweight king for a few brief months, but...woof...)

@CST80 made a solid one about him a few years ago (Nadjib Mohammedi: Iron Nads The Français Algérien Light Heavyweight Guerrier de Gardanne) but, the universe - and the forum's bandwidth - can probably survive there being multiple threads on a fighter. I've never bought into the idea that either of us beating the other to a subject precluded the other from putting their own signature on it.

 

Crap, what am I doing in Classic? Must have been holding the map upside down and/or taken a wrong turn in Albuquerque. Mods please yeet to General.

 

Actually nah, you know what? On second thought, screw Tata.

Even aside from his disgusting acts outside the ring, I'm not sure that on merit he is actually better p4p than all but nine other members of the all time Abel stable. Greater, sure, by dint of becoming lineal when he defeated Judah, but a better fighter? Nope. Just a journeyman who got lucky and caught the right talented but flawed individual on the right night. And then made precisely one successful defense, versus a shot Gatti who still was a 'name' but, let's be honest, was never a real welterweight. Djib & the gang > the diddler.

 

...btw, tapadh leat, @McGrain.

 

Robbed indeed versus Child...but reading the RBR it sounds like he was defeated legit by Shvedenko.

 

Haxhi would be hacked and slashed to ribbons.

 

Yep, fair description, but guys like that with the right matchup when the stars align can become (and have become) champs.

 

Oh hell yeah, Diablo's (re)active??

That would make me anxious actually, I wouldn't want either to lose.