Hassan N’Dam vs. Ryota Murata in the works for vacant WBA title

Last Saturday saw Daniel Jacobs’ WBA title subsumed by Gennady Golovkin’s “Super” version. Top Rank and Teiken, who promote #2 contender Ryota Murata, have begun discussions to fill the void with a fight between their man and interim champion Hassan N’Dam.

Predictably, Team Murata want the fight in Japan while Team N’Dam want it in France.

Murata (12-0, 9 KO), who won Olympic gold in 2012, would be taking a fairly massive step up in terms of professional opposition. The most notable name on his ledger is George Tahdooahnippah and, while he arguably hasn’t faced any true chumps, his first twelve fights look more like the average slow-cooked prospect’s than an Olympian’s.

N’Dam (35-2, 21 KO) returned from an unsuccessful run in Rio to obliterate Alfonso Blanco in 22 seconds last December. This marks the first time he’s held a belt since Peter Quillin dribbled him against the canvas to take his interim WBO title in 2012.

N’Dam is as tricky as they come and hits deceptively hard, but he’s held back by a chin that takes the concept of “bend but not break” to ludicrous heights. Vulnerable technician versus professionally unproven amateur star seems like a recipe for a great fight.