Patrick John Mendy (The Tiger) is the new World Boxing Foundation (WBF) middleweight division champion after beating Robert Swierzbinski in November 2014. He was in the country to meet the President, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh.

Patrick told What’s On-Gambia that meeting President Jammeh was a pleasant surprise. “It was great to meet him. He offered me a lot of good and strong advice.”

The meeting, which took place last Friday in State House, was attended by cabinet ministers.

“Three weeks after I won my WBF fight in Poland, I wrote a letter to the President requesting an audience.  His office wrote back informing me that he agreed to meet me,” said the 24-year-old boxer.

He continued: “During our meeting he assured me of his full support and that of the country.”

When asked why he requested the audience, Patrick responded: “In every house you have a father, isn’t? When you win something great you run to him and share the news.”

The UK-based boxer was born in Lamin Daranka in 1990. According to him, he is the first Gambian to win gold in boxing. He left the country in 2007 to pursue his dream of becoming a world champion.

Good luck, Pat!