Hassan N’Dam (36-2, 21 KOs) was awarded a controversial 12 round split decision over previously undefeated Ryota Murata (12-1, 9 KOs) to win the vacant WBA middleweight title on Saturday at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.
N’Dam rallied from a fourth round knockdown to win by scores of 116-111 and 115-112, while the third judge had it 117-110 for Murata.
The Japanese fighter got the better of N’Dam in the early rounds, landing numerous hard shots and dropped the Frenchman in the fourth…