"I don’t think I’m that far away. It’s just the small things like a little bit more power
and being a little bit sharper.
"I don’t think I’m that far from the top level now."
Fast, technical and dangerous with the knee, Ngimbi (pictured above, right) floored Germany's Schneidmiller
with a right cross on the way to a clear victory at the Amsterdam ArenA.
The 25-year-old admitted the win was extra special in front of the Dutch public, especially as
it followed a run of defeats to the likes of Joerie Mes and Marco Pique.
Ngimbi's extra round loss to Pique at this year's K-1 Max Holland tournament has subsequently
been overturned and awarded in his favour however.
And although he was knocked out hard by Mes last November, the Team Calmaro-trained fighter gave a
good account of himself before the left hook finish and has taken the positives out of the fight.
He has also been encouraged by his display in a decision loss to Giorgio Petrosyan, who many consider
a good bet to be this season's K-1 Max champion, at It's Showtime in Amsterdam last year.
Ngimbi told Fightnewz.net: “The victory meant a lot to me because I had a very difficult couple of
months, especially after the Joerie Mes fight.
“I felt a little bit of pressure, so it was a very personal victory in the ArenA. It’s special
in front of 20,000 people watching you do your thing.
“Last time I was there I lost on points against Petrosyan but I wasn’t prepared for the fight.
They asked me one week before if I wanted to fight him.
“I took the Joerie Mes defeat hard at first and it was very difficult to accept.
“But when I saw the images the next day I was very happy about the way I fought until that point.
“I took that small consolation and I made a mistake and he is a veteran and punished me the way Joerie
does."
Ngimbi added: “I was happy I could fight with him the way I did and that I could fight at the same
level.
“It was a personal victory and it’s all part of the experience. It didn’t affect my confidence
at all because after that I fought Marco Pique and I fought pretty good.
“I should have won that fight but they gave the decision to him.
“I was more powerful and scored more points than Marco did, so the defeat to Joerie didn’t affect
me at all.
"I still believe I can make the absolute top and I’m coming."
Following his win over Schneidmiller, Ngimbi will be back on an It's Showtime card on October 24, in Lommel,
Belgium.
