In June 1996 Girard challenged the eventually undisputed champion Dariusz Michalczewski for the WBO title in Cologne.
[1] Six months later the rematch took place in Hannover, this time Girard suffered an eighth round knockout defeat.
Girard moved up to cruiserweight and had initial success, beating Antoine Palatis to become French champion.
In 1999 Girard went back to Germany to face Alexey Ilyin for the vacant European Cruiserweight title but was stopped in the tenth.
Despite the loss at European level, Girard was chosen to face Johnny Nelson for his WBO Cruiserweight Title and was stopped in the fourth.