By Sulayman Bah
Debate over who will secure the bragging rights between Modou Lo and Balla Gaye dominate all discussions this minute.
Partisan fans have their allegiance known long before signing of the bout except for seasoned pundits who would rather play it safe regarding who among the two wrestlers will emerge supreme.
Foroyaa Sport gives a lowdown and our pick for who carries the day, as the headline suggests, is the Rock of Energie Club Modou Lo. The smallest in the top tier, Modou Lo has given trouble to every of the twenty-three A-list fighters he’d battled with.
Being diminutively built has come to mean nothing to him hence his parlance ‘size is not a yardstick’ and Bombardier should receive no sticks for testifying to this.
Despite being given the favourite tagging, it was said the Parcelles-based phenomenon was punching above his weight when he squared then King of Arena Bombardier who snatched the crown off Balla Gaye’s grips.
Modou did not succeed in his plot to dethrone Bombardier but went down still with his reputation intact. He wore a fearless demeanour, defying Bombardier toe-to-toe whom he left with a battered face and bruises to nurse in the aftermath of that 2015 nail-biting bout. The craft of boxing is one thing he seems to master to the core. Also, a box of tricks, he never appears to run out of a style that could force even his staunchest of critics to nod in sheer endorsement. Witty in his combats, he entertains, annoys, dominates and conquers –just the traits that should send shivers down the spine of Balla Gaye.
Eumeu Sene had come convinced all he required was put on a mass weight, lift him above the shoulders and possibly dangling before sending him sprawling helplessly on the ground. But as he would later find out, Eumeu suffered a loss he probably will never forget. He peppered Tay Shinger with successive jabs leaving him frustrated. By the time the whistle had went for recess, Eumeu cut a demoralized figure. His drab tactic of letting flying random but uncalculated distant combinations went to waste. Modou’s game plan of prolonging fights is complimented by his reservoir of stamina which his opponents are more often than not unprepared to endure. This is a common strategy he will sure deploy and hope for the best against Balla this Sunday laced with some very intermittent rapidity. Gone are the days when wrestlers took excess protein tablets. Balla Gaye, Gouye Gui and Tapha Tine have come to realise this. Balla may have assumed a flattering form but his cannot be matched with the one Modou Lo flaunts –a fine shape well-toned with muscles.
In the Lion of Guediwaye, he takes on a tricky bloke who spanked him in the fastest of bouts lasting 19 seconds in 2010. This embarrassing episode can pose a psychological threat, however, the Club Rock Energie juggernaut has evolved into the complete athlete and should by now be well placed to overcome this. Pundits are predicting a duel packed with blows, real-time wrestling mbapth style, KOs (knockouts). All three favours Modou and despite his small size, has the tendency to pull off the latter of which should it happen, will bring a bragging Balla Gaye flat back down to earth – a dream revenge come true it would then be for Kharange Lo.
Now or Never
There is huge possibility of Modou Lo fighting twice this season first with Balla and then Eumeu Sene who has the arena’s crown to himself. The man from Parcelles has never won the jewel and it’s either this season or it may never happen for him.
Victory over arch rival Balla Gaye could beef up his confidence en route to his tie with Tay Shinger.
Editor’s Note: Watch out we chronicle Balla Gaye’s strongest point in our subsequent edition.
