Paris Saint-Germain Boxing

Early years and French titles

In September 1992, a few months after basketball, volleyball, handball and judo, parent club Paris Saint-Germain created its boxing department under the direction of Jean-Claude Bouttier, a former European middleweight champion in the 1970s. Under former French boxing team manager René Acquaviva, five boxers joined Paris Saint-Germain Boxing: Philippe Desavoye, Djamel Lifa, Julien Lorcy, Hacine Cherifi and Patrice Aouissi.^[1]

These five boxing prospects had participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona, Spain, before discovering professional boxing with PSG. In September 1993, Jean-Claude Bouttier opened a boxing gym inside the Parc des Princes, as well as hiring former light middleweight World champion Gilbert Delé.^[1]

In early 1994, two PSG boxers became French champions - Lifa and Aouissi - while another, Cherifi, missed out and quickly left the club. In May, club president Bouttier confirmed that PSG Boxing would welcome further boxers. Later that year, the club recruited Ludovic Proto, Philippe Michel, Tshimanga M'Biye and current European light welterweight champion Khalid Rahilou.^[1]

European success

In March 1995, Aouissi became PSG's first European champion. He claimed the cruiserweight title after knocking out Ukrainian fighter Alexander Gurov in the 3rd round. In October 1995, Philippe Michel fought for the World Championship title against German pugilist Dariusz Michalczewski Dariusz Michalczewski, losing by unanimous decision. Lorcy and Rahilou, for their part, had a better year. The former had a successful tour in the United States, while the latter successfully defended his European title in September, winning by technical knockout against Denmark's Søren Fjordback Søndergaard.^[1]

In February 1996, Djamel Lifa tried his luck at the European super featherweight title, but lost on points to Russian fighter Anatoly Alexandrov. In July, a second PSG boxer had his world title chance, but Patrice Aouissi bowed to the Argentine Marcelo Domínguez by technical knockout in the 9th round. Following the fight, tensions between manager René Acquaviva and Aouissi aroused due to the former's coaching. Lorcy, in contrast, was crowned European champion at the end of the year, knocking out Russian pugilist Boris Sinitsin in the 7th round.^[1]

World title and dissolution

In January 1997, Khalid Rahilou became World super lightweight champion after defeating American fighter Frankie Randall at Nashville by technical knockout in the 11th round. It was the first time since Alphonse Halimi in 1957 that a French boxer won the WBA title in the USA. Meanwhile, Aouissi continued his downfall by losing his European lightweight title against Englishman Johnny Nelson (technical knockout, 7th round) in February 1997.^[1]

A month later, Bobo Lorcy had his first attempt at the World super featherweight title against Mexican pugilist Arnulfo Castillo at the Halle Georges Carpentier in Paris. The fight ended in a draw, despite Lorcy dominating in the final rounds. A rematch later that year also ended in a draw. In the meantime, Lifa was finally crowned European champion in April against compatriot, Moussa Sangaré (technical knockout, 6th round). He then retained the title by beating Boris Sinitsin five months later. In July, Rahilou successfully defended his World title as well, defeating American fighter Marty Jakubowski (technical knockout, 7th round).^[1]

Between 1992 and 1997, PSG boxers won six French Championships, three European Championships and one World Championship. But despite being at its peak, the departure of iconic manager René Acquaviva in the summer of 1997 signalled the premature end of PSG Boxing. Not long after, parent club Paris Saint-Germain, disappointed by the lack of support from the French Boxing Federation, dissolved one of its most decorated departments and closed the boxing gym at the Parc des Princes.^[1]