Chris Kongo rose again on Easter Sunday after more than a year out of the ring to defeat bitter rival Florian Marku on points at the O2 Arena in Greenwich.
Bermondsey’s Kongo won a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards of 96-94, 96-93 and 98-92 after ten rounds, to hand Albanian Marku a first professional defeat in his fifteen-fight career.
It was Kongo’s first victory since June 2022, coming fourteen months after his defeat to Ekow Essuman, as he improved his professional record to 15-2.
Marku started aggressively and Kongo sustained a cut over his right eye as his opponent landed in close.
But Kongo got on top using his longer reach to pick off Marku. Kongo was able to step in and connect before moving back before Marku could counter.
By the sixth round Kongo had gained control, and his work was starting to show as Marku had swelling around his eyes.
Towards the end of the seventh Kongo was able to snap his opponent’s head back with quick jabs. Marku struggled to land as the bell sounded on another confident round from Kongo.
Marku’s frustration was illustrated in the eighth round when he twice punched Kongo on the back of the head and he was deducted a point by referee Howard Foster. Marku was also warned he would be disqualified if he repeated those misdemeanours.
Kongo admitted he had a tough year out of the ring as he gave his reaction ringside after getting the decision for the IBO intercontinental welterweight belt.
“First of all, I want to thank my Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ. I came here, we prayed, I believed, I trusted in the work. I trusted in [coaches] Barry Smith, I trusted in Lee Wylie and I trusted in Ben Davison,” Kongo said.
“All you’ve got to do is trust.
“Last year, I took an L [loss], but that didn’t stop me from sticking to it in the gym and keep working. Keep working and working and working. And I always knew that one day it would pay off.
“I promised myself, once I win this I’m going straight back in the gym. I’m getting back to work, nobody is going to stop me, I’m going to keep staying disciplined inside of the ring and training, and outside.
“In the first couple of rounds I felt his power and I said, ‘yeah, this ain’t stopping me, no way, he’s not stopping me’. I just said in my head, ‘stay disciplined, keep working, stay disciplined, keep working’. And it paid off.
“Just remember, I’ve had a year out of the ring and for sure, it was hard for me, it was really hard. One thing I did was stick in the gym. I stayed in the gym 24/7 and I kept, kept, kept working. That’s the main thing.
“And I’d like to say, I’m actually proud of myself for doing that.”
