# Nordine Oubaali

Nordine Oubaali (Arabic: نوردين أوبالي) (born 4 August 1986) is a Moroccan-French former professional boxer who competed from 2014 to 2021. He held the WBC bantamweight title from 2019 to 2021. As an amateur he won a bronze medal in the light-flyweight division at the 2007 World Championships.

## Amateur career

Oubaali is the 13th child of 18 siblings in total. In 2006, he became French champion. At the 2007 World Championships the southpaw bested Arginian Junior Zarate (RSCO), Spaniard José Kelvin de la Nieve 33:12, and Georgiy Chygayev (UKR) 25–9. In the semis he was overwhelmed by Chinese top favorite Zou Shiming. At the 2008 Olympics, he beat Rafikjon Sultonov 8:7 and almost shocked local superstar Zou Shiming, but lost 3-3+ (jury decision). For the 2012 Summer Olympics, he moved up to flyweight (52 kg). He beat Ajmal Faisal in the first round, Rau'Shee Warren in the second but then lost to Ireland's Michael Conlan in the quarterfinal.

## Professional career
### Early career

Oubaali made his professional debut against Sergey Tasimov on March 20, 2014. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Oubaali amassed an 11–0 record during the next two years, with eight victories coming by way of stoppage. Oubaali faced Alejandro Hernandez on June 2, 2017, for the vacant WBC Silver bantamweight title. He won the fight by a tenth-round technical knockout. He made his first and only title defense against Mark Anthony Geraldo on December 16, 2017, whom he beat by a seventh-round knockout. Oubali faced Luis Melendez in a non-title bout on April 7, 2018. He won the fight by a second-round knockout.

### WBC Bantamweight champion
#### Oubaali vs. Warren

On November 21, 2018, it was announced by the WBC that Nordine Oubaali would face Rau'shee Warren for the vacant WBC bantamweight title. Warren was ranked #1 by the WBC at bantamweight. The bout was scheduled for the undercard of the PBC on Fox card on December 22, 2018, at the Barclays Center in New York City. It was not slated for network broadcast. The two of them previously fought as amateurs in the first round of the 2012 Olympic Games, with Oubaali winning by decision. The bout was postponed on December 4, 2018, to allow Oubaali's coach and brother Ali to corner Estelle Mossely on December 22. The Oubaali and Warren fight was instead rescheduled for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner undercard on January 19, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oubaali was a -379 betting favorite, while Warren entered the fight as a +319 underdog.
Oubaali captured the vacant title by unanimous decision, with scores of 115–113, 116–112, and 117–111. He spent the majority of the fight pressuring and controlling the pace, while Warren found most success in the fifth, seventh and eleventh rounds. Warren acknowledged the flow of the fight in his post-fight interview, stating: "He wanted it more...He had his foot on the gas".

#### Oubaali vs. Villanueva

Oubaali was scheduled to make the first defense of his WBC bantamweight title against the one-time IBF and WBO title challenger Arthur Villanueva. Villanueva was ranked number 15 by the WBC at bantamweight. The fight was scheduled as the main event of an ESPN+ card, which took place on July 6, 2019, at the Barys Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Oubaali was a significant -3500 favorite heading into the bout, while Villanueva came in as a +1200 underdog. He won the fight by a sixth-round stoppage. Oubaali dominated from the start, causing a swelling to appear above Villanueva's left eye and knocking the Philippine fighter with an uppercut-right hook combination in the sixth round. Villanueva retired from the fight at the end of the sixth round.

#### Oubaali vs. Inoue

Oubaali was scheduled to make his second WBC bantamweight title defense against the interim bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue. Inoue achieved the status of a mandatory challenger on September 11, 2018, with a unanimous decision victory against Mark John Yap. As he was forced to wait for the result of the Oubaali and Warren fight, Inoue furthermore fought and defeated Petch Sor Chitpattana on December 30, 2018, to become the WBC interim bantamweight champion. The fight between Oubaali and Inoue was scheduled for the undercard of the Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire WBSS final, which was held on November 7, 2019, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Oubaali outpointed Inoue to retain his WBC title. Oubaali scored the sole knockdown of the fight in the third round, when he dropped Inoue with a left hook. Although he was unable to finish his opponent, Oubaali nonetheless won by a comfortable decision, with scores of 117–110, 120–107 and 115–112.

#### Oubaali vs. Donaire

Oubaali was scheduled to make his third WBC title defense against the former four-weight world champion Nonito Donaire. Donaire was ranked number 1 by the WBC at bantamweight. The fight was scheduled for December 12, 2020, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Oubaali withdrew from the fight on November 13, 2020, following a positive COVID-19 test. He was replaced by Emmanuel Rodríguez, who was to face Donaire on December 19, 2020. On December 9, 2020, Donaire was forced to withdraw from the Rodriguez fight, as he had tested positive for COVID-19 as well. The fight between Oubaali and Donaire was rescheduled for May 29, 2021, as the main event of the PBC card held at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Donaire won the fight by a fourth-round knockout. Oubaali was knocked down twice in the third round, before getting finished with a hook-straight-uppercut combination in the fourth round.
This would prove to be the last fight of his professional career, as Oubaali officially announced his retirement from the sport on April 5, 2022.

## Professional boxing record

| 19 fights | 17 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 12 | 1 |
| By decision | 5 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 19 | Loss | 17–2 | Ricardo Martinez | SD | 8 | 29 Apr 2023 | Salle Gayant, Douai, France | |
| 18 | Loss | 17–1 | Nonito Donaire | KO | 4 (12), 1:52 | 29 May 2021 | Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, US | Lost WBC bantamweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Takuma Inoue | UD | 12 | 7 Nov 2019 | Super Arena, Saitama, Japan | Retained WBC bantamweight title |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Arthur Villanueva | RTD | 6 (12), 3:00 | 6 Jul 2019 | Barys Arena, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan | Retained WBC bantamweight title |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Rau'shee Warren | UD | 12 | 19 Jan 2019 | MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, US | Won vacant WBC bantamweight title |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Luis Melendez | KO | 2 (10), 1:43 | 7 Apr 2018 | Dome de Paris-Palais des Sports, Paris, France | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Mark Anthony Geraldo | KO | 7 (12), 1:25 | 16 Dec 2017 | La Seine Musicale, Boulogne-Billancourt, France | Retained WBC Silver bantamweight title |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Alejandro Hernandez | TKO | 10 (12), 0:33 | 2 Jun 2017 | Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles, Paris, France | Won vacant WBC Silver bantamweight title |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Julio César Miranda | TKO | 12 (12), 2:46 | 17 Dec 2016 | Gymnase du Clos de l'Arche, Noisy-le-Grand, France | Won WBA Inter-Continental bantamweight title |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Iran Diaz | KO | 7 (10), 2:38 | 27 May 2016 | Cirque d'hiver, Paris, France | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Reynaldo Cajina | UD | 6 | 19 Feb 2016 | Cirque d'hiver, Paris, France | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Gagi Edisherashvili | TKO | 1 (8) | 5 Dec 2015 | Salle Joliot Curie, Fontenay-sous-Bois, France | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Mihaly Telekfi | KO | 1 (6) | 30 Oct 2015 | Salle la Soucoupe, Saint-Nazaire, France | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Artur Movsesian | TKO | 1 (6) | 13 Jun 2015 | Cirque d'hiver, Paris, France | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Hassan Azaouagh | KO | 1 (10) | 2 May 2015 | Espace Francois Mitterrand, Hénin-Beaumont, France | Won vacant French bantamweight title |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Nugzar Chavchavadze | TKO | 5 (8) | 23 Jan 2015 | Salle la Soucoupe, Saint-Nazaire, France | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Faycal Messaoudene | UD | 6 | 15 Nov 2014 | Gymnase Michel Ricard, Rueil-Malmaison, France | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Norredine Dahou | TKO | 1 (6) | 24 Oct 2014 | Salle la Soucoupe, Saint-Nazaire, France | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Sergey Tasimov | UD | 4 | 20 Mar 2014 | 555 Famous Club, Marrakech, Morocco | |