Souleymane Cissokho Edges Egidijus Kavaliauskas In WBC Eliminator

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea —In what is the biggest fight in this part of Africa since the Rumble in the Jungle, Equatorial Guinea hosted a WBC Silver welterweight title bout and a card packed with rising American boxing prospects. At stake in the main event was a a chance to become the mandatory challenger to WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.

Souleymane Cissokho of France and Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania arrived earlier this week to the African nation. The fight isn't as big as Muhammad Ali taking on the undefeated George Foreman in October 1974, but it proved a great contrast in styles.

The Centre de Conference de Sipopo in Equatorial Guinea was filled with a packed card as Cissokho survived two knockdowns to defeat Kavaliauskas 114-112, 115-111 and 116-110. The crowd chanted Cissokho as he carefully boxed and used his jab to keep his opponent at bay.

At the final press conference a member of Virgil Hunter’s camp approached Egis Klimas, the manager of the Lithuanian fighter, and said simply, “This is going to be a great fight.”

Both fighters acknowledged the historic nature of the moment at the final press conference. For Egas, now 36, the clock was ticking. Klimas even climbed onto the ring apron in the second half of the fight to urge him on. "I told to not let this one get away," Klimas said. One more knockdown would clearly have been enough to slip the fight the other direction.

Vraiment impatient de revoir @Souleymane_C sur le ring 🥊🇫🇷 !
Qui plus est face à un adversaire qui a échoué dans sa quête du titre en s’inclinant face un certain… Terrence Crawford !

En espérant que ce soit le dernier combat avant celui pour le titre. #Cissokho #WBC #boxe https://t.co/GIQBsdihOS
— Alexandre Martel (@alex_martel__) May 5, 2025

For Souleymane Cissokho, this marks the culmination of a long and steady climb toward a world title opportunity.

“I feel better than I did ten years ago,” Kavaliauskas said in the final press conference, emphasizing the strength of his training camp. Klimas, with a smile, added that he’s had a few “unofficial street fights” as well in his career, a line meant to draw laughs, but also implying the wear and tear of a long career.

Power is the last thing to go, but the Lithuanian dropped Cissokho twice. First in the second round with a left hook as Cissokho moved along the ropes. In the fifth round, Kavaliauskas landed an uppercut which sent Cissokho out of the ring. Cissokho survived the 20 count and got back into the ring in time.

For Cissokho, the high-profile nature of this bout finally places him in the spotlight he’s long deserved. France has produced many great champions over the years, but too few and far between. The country lacks a boxing ecosystem to sustain elite careers, and like many French fighters before him, Cissokho has had to build from scratch. His partnership with Under Armour and his role as co-promoter of this event show he’s now firmly in control of his own destiny.

"It was a great fight, and the injured hand did not bother me," said Cissokho after the fight.

Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao is reportedly set to return in July to fight Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title. This is frustratiing for Cissokho, who has spent time in the gym sparring with Barrios and hoped to be next in line.

Also featured on the undercard are Oakland’s heavy-hitting Amari Jones and Nico Ali Walsh, the middleweight grandson of Muhammad Ali. Both Walsh and Jones earned victories on the judges scorecards in their first fights in Africa. For Walsh it was a reset for his career and for Jones a chance to show why he is a rising middleweight prospect. The night opened with a bout featuring a national of Equatorial Guinea, giving the hometown crowd in the host country its first ever major boxing card something to cheer for.

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