Michel Soro crowned IBO World middleweight champion

Michel Soro finally becomes a world champion at 38

Trained by Abel Sanchez, Michel Soro (38-4-2, 27 KOs) was crowned IBO World middleweight champion on June 10 with a victory over Hassan Mwakinyo in the largest city in the Ivory Coast, Abidjan, where he was born in 1987.

38-years-later and Soro is crowned world champion in his place of birth.

Soro begun the bout targeting the body with rangy straight jabs, pushing Mwakinyo back. He was soon throwing backhand straight rights to the body midway through the opener as Mwakinyo backed up under the protection of a high guard, just pawing out jabs to keep Soro off, who landed a snappy jab to rock Hassan's head back. Mwakinyo tried to fly worward with a two-punch combination but Soro easily stepped away from the attack.

Soro pinned Mwakinyo into the corner in round two and was instantly applying pressure. Mwakinyo jabbed back behind his tight guard, also attempting to come forward to push the aggressor back, but his punching power looked far below Michel's. The pace slowed for the rest of the round. Hassan was throwing tippy-tappy shots just to keep his man off, but then he opened up with a big counter right in the last minute. They ended the round tentatively.

Soro continued as the aggressor throughout, eventually finding the finish in the ninth round. Michel was stalking his prey, visibly looking for one big shot. Mwakinyo tied up and jabbed him off, but he couldn't escape the constant pressure walking him down. A leaping left hook stunned Mwakinyo to the point where he immediately stopped boxing and turned his back. There was a moment of confusion as Soro stopped himself, turned to the referee Howard Foster, who wasn't intervening, so he continued to throw punches on the damaged, defenceless fighter, until it was stopped soon after.

After the fight, the loser admitted to feeling weakened on the night. “I would like to apologise to Tanzanians for what happened because even I was surprised by the outcome. I was weak,” Mwakinyo said.

The victor finally wins his world title after 18 years of fighting. The former European champion challenged for WBO and IBO world super-welterweight titles many years ago in 2012, but was denied by decision. Becoming a world champion 14 years later shows his perseverance and dedication.

Who is Michel Soro?

Michel Soro was born 30 October 1987 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The Frenchman's pro debut was October 2nd 2008 in Paris, France, his country of residence. His first 18 bouts all took place in France.

He challenged for the WBO and IBO super-welterweight titles in 2012.

He won the EBU European middleweight title in 2015.

He challenged for the WBA Interim super-welterweight title in 2017.

In November 2020, Soro was ranked the world’s eighth best active super-welterweight by The Ring magazine and seventh best by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

During his 18-year pro career, he has won six titles: 2x WBO European super-welterweight title / European middleweight title / WBA International super-welterweight title / WBA Gold super-welterweight title / IBO World middleweight title.

He stands at 5 ft 101⁄2 in (179 cm) with a reach of 70" (178cm).

He has a 71% KO ratio.

Soro is ranked #1 middleweight in France, and BoxRec list him at #11 in the world.