Home / News / Hadribeaj Outpoints Samake In Oberhausen — Fundora Has A Mandatory Problem At 154
Hadribeaj Outpoints Samake In Oberhausen — Fundora Has A Mandatory Problem At 154
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT

Hadribeaj Outpoints Samake In Oberhausen — Fundora Has A Mandatory Problem At 154

SUPER WELTERWEIGHT

Hadribeaj Outpoints Samake In Oberhausen — Fundora Has A Mandatory Problem At 154

Ermal Hadribeaj edged Bakary Samake by majority decision in Oberhausen — WBC 154-pound final eliminator won, mandatory shot at Sebastian Fundora next.

  • Ermal Hadribeaj edged Bakary Samake on scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 in Oberhausen — WBC 154-pound final eliminator won, mandatory shot at Sebastian Fundora next.
  • Samake came forward all night with high volume but Hadribeaj used veteran clinch work and counter rights to take the back end of the fight.
  • Hadribeaj now sits as the official WBC mandatory at 154, Fundora has to act inside 120 days or vacate — Arena Box won the purse bid and got the result they wanted.
May 24, 2026 By Luke Parker • Boxing Lookout

Veteran Savvy Beats Volume In Germany

Right then. Quietly, on the other side of the world from the Pyramids, Ermal Hadribeaj got his shot at the big leagues on Saturday night in Oberhausen and took it. The unbeaten Belgian outpointed Bakary Samake over twelve in the WBC 154-pound final eliminator — scorecards of 116-112, 115-113, 115-113 — and is now the mandatory challenger for Sebastian Fundora's title.

Samake Brought The Pressure — But Couldn't Pace It

Samake walked into Arena Oberhausen on a 19-0 unbeaten run and came forward from the first bell. For six rounds he was the busier man — high volume, body shots, never a step back. The problem was the second half. Hadribeaj read the rhythm, started clinching the moment Samake set his feet, and his counter right hand started snapping the head back. By round nine Samake's output had dropped, by round eleven he was loading up because he needed the knockout, and the wide right hand Hadribeaj kept landing over the top wasn't there in the early rounds — it was textbook championship-distance management.

Fundora Has A Mandatory Problem

Now the WBC has to call it. Sebastian Fundora has 120 days to engage or the belt goes vacant. Fundora at 6'6" against Hadribeaj's veteran spoiler game is a stylistic puzzle box — Fundora's reach negated for the first time in his career, the Belgian's clinch work tailor-made to dismantle a tall fighter who depends on long range. Keith Thurman still hangs around the division as a name fight but the mandatory is now Hadribeaj. The Tall Order has a problem.

Arena Box Won The Bid And Got The Result

Quick reminder for those who don't follow the politics — Arena Box won the purse bid back in May for $339,817, beat Samake's home offer of $281,800, and put the fight on in Oberhausen. The original plan was Paris in April, then Okolie's failed test scrapped the card. Arena Box backed themselves, brought it to Germany, and got the man they wanted into the mandatory slot. Hadribeaj is now their world title contender. Smart promoting.

Boxing Lookout's Verdict

Honest call — Hadribeaj is not the most exciting world title challenger you'll ever see, but he is a genuinely awkward fighter and Fundora won't have it easy. If you know, you know — these eliminator-winning awkward Europeans tend to either dominate or get blown away. Either way, the WBC 154 division just got more interesting, and Fundora's September diary is now being rewritten in real time.

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