Russian WBO middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog has a new mandatory challenger in Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam after the Frenchman defeated Ukrainian fighter Max Bursak.

N’Dam N’Jikam won the WBO interim belt on a unanimous points decision in a fight between two previously unbeaten contenders, with the judges scoring the fight 118-110, 118-111 and 118-110.

The bout in Paris was the first time Bursak had fought outside Ukraine, and N’Dam N’Jikam’s first since a points victory over Giovanni Lorenzo in April 2011.

WBO rules state that Pirog must fight the new interim champion within 120 days, although Pirog’s management is trying to arrange a unification bout with IBF champion Daniel Geale instead.

Pirog won the WBO belt with a fifth-round stoppage of Daniel Jacobs in Las Vegas in July 2010, and has since defended the title three times, most recently with a unanimous points win over Japan’s Nobuhiro Ishida on Tuesday.

Pirog, 31, is unbeaten in 20 professional fights, with 15 wins by knockout.

Cameroonian-born N’Dam N’Jikam, 28, is unbeaten in 27 fights, with 17 knockout wins, and previously held the interim WBA middleweight belt, although this did not result in a title shot.