Mehdi Sahnoune (born May 5, 1976) is a French former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. Known as "Kounet", Sahnoune turned pro in 1997 and challenged WBA Light Heavyweight Title holder Bruno Girard in 2003, winning the belt by TKO. He lost the belt in his first defense to

Silvio Branco Silvio Branco (born 26 August 1966) is an Italian former professional boxer of Romani origin. Career 1992 he was outpointed by undefeated southpaw Agostino Cardamone for the Italian middleweight title. When Cardamone vacated he could win the v ...

later that year. In 2005 he got another shot at a major belt, the WBO Light Heavyweight Title, against

Zsolt Erdei Zsolt Erdei (born 31 May 1974) is a Hungarian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO and lineal light-heavyweight titles from 2004 to 2009 (making eleven c ...

, but he lost via TKO in the 12th round.

Criminal charges

Sahnoune was sentenced to a three-year prison term for allegedly participating in a battery on a man outside a nightclub in Aix-en-Provence,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

References

External links

* 1976 births French sportspeople of Algerian descent Living people Sportspeople from Marseille World boxing champions French male boxers Light-heavyweight boxers {{france-boxing-bio-stub