Claim: Jean Baptiste Mendy turned pro in 1983, and in 1998, he captured the WBA heavyweight title with a decision win over Orzubek Nazarov, a boxer of Uzbek/Kyrgyz ethnicity.
Evidence: Mendy turned pro in 1983 and captured the vacant WBC lightweight title with a win over Lamar Murphy in 1996. In 1998, he captured the WBA lightweight title with a decision win over Orzubek Nazarov. Orzubek Nazarov (born August 30, 1966 in Kant, Kyrgyz SSR) is a boxer of Uzbek/Kyrgyz ethnicity, who won the bronze medal at the 1986 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Reno.