Valter Chiarottini reviews all championship fights involving Italian boxers. From National to International bouts, if it involves a Italian boxer you can read about it here! Valter is your best source for un-biased analysis of Italian boxing.
March 10, 2001 in Brembate, Italy WBU International Welterweight title Promoted by: Boxing Cotena Group Colombian journeyman Moreno established himself in Europe to gain some purses and has made it honestly. At 35 he has yet the achieve his desire to accomplish something great with his boxing career. He's a lefty and very tough but lacks speed and uses almost only the left arm to punch. Luca Messi has 2 defeats in his record, 2 matches for the Italian title against Pasquale Perna and Michele Orlando, officially by cuts but really he was outboxed by Perna and overpowered by Orlando. He is a game fighter however, who gave all he had and battled at a furious pace. This time it wasn't so, Messi didn't find the range to throw his combinations because of the better footwork of Moreno, who also bobbed and waved well becoming a difficult target. Moreno dictated the pace (slow) and landed many single lefts, sometime straights but more hooks even if Messi afterwards said that he blocked almost all Moreno's punches. Rarely was Messi effective in countering and when attacking he lacked accuracy. It is true that some rounds were close because so little shots hit targets but it seemed obvious a verdict should be in favour of Moreno who even floored Messi with a clean right hook (the referee called it a slip Messi being out of balance). On the contrary the judges' cards were all in favour of the Italian fighter. A boring match and probably a bad verdict. Messi declared he turned from fighter to boxer to avoid cuts, but he didn't show the talent to be a good boxer. However he's still relatively young (26) and may improve.
March 9, 2001 in Tarquinia, Italy Italian Superwelterweight Title Promoted by: Rosanna Conti Cavini - Gattopard Boxing A real war! The great effort sustained by the 2 fighters cancelled the bad performance from a tecnical point of view. There was a moment that I hoped it finished 'cause it was dangerous for both fighters', and safety keep absorbing such a beating. At the end of the 6th round the fight was declared a technical win in favour of Di Giacomo. Home fighter Iommarini showed an iron will and started well winning the first 2 rounds with furious attacks. He threw a good left jab to make a road for his wild hooks but Di Giacomo maintained a tight and high guard and blocked many shots. On the contrary the challenger repeatedly landed with clean left hooks and long right crosses showing Iommarini the have no defense at all. The champ only took care of attacking and that was more evident as the match went on with Iommarini suffering an injured right hand and conscious of not being able land punches the next 10 rounds. In the fourth round the referee 8 counted Iommarini, clearly shocked by a right cross while in the 5th a point was deducted from the champ for pushing (Di Giacomo fell three times on the canvas during the 4th and 5th rounds without being hit: Iommarini's fault but Di Giacomo has to improve his balance). In the 6th round Iommarini threw shots exclusively with his left hand, again furiousely attacking, deserving the acclamation of his people but he didn't get his goal and his face was a bloody mask. The bout was stopped and the cards had Di Giacomo as the winner. Iommarini lost his title the same way he won it (he beat Luca Mori by tech. decision) while Di Giacomo made a better performance than the last time I saw him (the only defeat in his record: lost to Erik Daponte inside the distance).
March 2, 2001 in Caltanissetta Welterweights non-title fight After 7 months of inactivity, caused by Italian boxing falling in stature, Piccirillo returned to the ring against an experienced and hard punching foe. This was a good test before defending the WBU Title who Piccirillo is a long time champ of. Well, Mabesi was outboxed from the start, never able to get into the fight. Piccirillo used his reach advantage well but showed even more superior timing and accuracy in throwing punches. His best weapons are as ever, the straight blow but he landed good left hooks also. Mabesi looked to be a dangerous hitter but was never in condition to prove it. On the contrary he was an easy target for the very active but cold Piccirillo who knocked down the Tanzanian in the second roud with a beautiful straight right and finished him in the third round with a right uppercut coming after a left hook. The result states Piccirllo has great condition, mentally and physically he is at his best. Now is the moment to get a real World Title shot. At 31 Piccirillo can't wait and even if Shane Mosley is a super- champ, the Italian 'gentleman' deserves to play his chances. Piccirillo claims to be a winner in an amateur contest against Mosley and says this is the reason Mosley is ducking him. More realistically I think it's difficult to make a match between a world star and a fighter known only in Italy. Piccirillo needs at least a good test in the USA before American matchmakers could consider a fight with Mosley to be good business. At the same time is difficult to bring Mosley to Italy since Italian television is not supporting boxing anymore. Mosley doesn't need Piccirillo who could be a hard contender fighting at home. For now Piccirillo will have to defend his WBU title against durable Shea Neary, perhaps in England. In the undercard Vincenzo Rossitto proved to be an rising heavyweight kayoing Tanzanian Kambenga in the first round with a straight right that made Kambenga fly to the canvas. Rossitto is the most technicaly advanced Italian heavyweight since Francesco Damiani. He lacks power, but not this time.
February 28, 2001 in Calatafimi Segesta, Italy International WBU Featherweight Title A vastly improved Di Meco, from a technical point of view, didn't succeeded in conquering his first international title because of his physical limits. From the last time I saw him, Di Meco seems to be a different boxer: better footwork, and mobility overall, enables him to land with series of hooks, instead of single shots, and then move away. Surely he hasn't the talent, but has the dedication for this sport. Farias (Argentina) is far more experienced (more than 50 fights in his record with only 7 defeats but no telling wins in last 3 years) and in this match showed how much experience can count. He fought out of his country and lost the first 3 rounds of a 10 round match but didn't give up and boxed with coolness, searching for Di Meco weaknesses. Farias couldn't compete with the speed or mobility but was more powerful and realized he could be effective with bodyshots. Di Meco protected his face with a high guard and didn't accept long exchanges preferring to throw 2-3 shots and run. In the fourth round Farias landed a great right uppercut to Di Meco's stomach obliging the Italian to put a knee on the canvas. Di Meco lost his confidence and had afterwards fought without the adequate desire. Farias won the 6th round, in which Di Meco put a knee on the canvas another time because of a left uppercut to the body but the referee didn't count over him. A great flurry of Di Meco in the 9th round made it the best round of the match: an action packed round with Di Meco slightly prevailing. Again hard boxing in the 10th round which can be considered even. In conclusion this was a good match between 2 mediocre fighters. I expect Farias to again box in Italy but I don't think his international reign will be a long one. Di Meco is the current Italian Champ and has few contenders in national field. In April 2000 he lost by KO 1 against unknown Brahim Abouda demonstrating he can't take a punch. My computer was shut down by a virus and I have lost many of my E-mail addresses. Please E-mail me if I have told you I listed you on my E-mail Address Book, so I can re-enter your address. Thank you.
February 23, 2001 in Giugliano, Italy Intercontinental WBU Cruiserweight Title Waiting for challenging Vassili Jirov, Aurino defended his little title against the mediocre Trofimov but again failed to impress. With superior speed and mobility Aurino piled up points in the first 6 rounds but Trofimov is a tough guy and absorbed the soft punches of the Italian well. Then Aurino faded and Trofimov tried to capitalize by counterpunching. When Aurino, a southpaw, stayed throwing his left, Trofimov responded with the right hand (hooks and crosses) stunning the champ, decking him in the 7th round and rocking him in the 9th. Only a good final round rally in the 10th made by Aurino retained his title. This is not a performance which you expect from a world challenger. Aurino, beaten by Jirov during the Olympic Games of Atlanta has to train very hard if he wants to be a serious threat for the champ and not just a sparring partner as he was in the match he lost against Johnny Nelson. Again about Cruisers; in March 17 in Rome we'll have a match for the International WBC Title with Vincenzo Cantatore defending his crown against French champ Alain Simon. It should be an entertaining fight if not a great one as Cantatore is a good puncher with a mediocre chin while Simon is a brave and tough fighter.
February 17, 2001 in Padova, Italy International WBC Middleweight Title A bout between two tough fighters, both unbeaten. Elliott has a powerful right hand but a monotonous style. The muscled fighter from Nigeria paid attention to defense in this bout and used his reach advantage well. The southpaw Sanavia could not easily throw his combinations punches and only ever connected with single lefts. He had a slight advantage in speed but at close range suffered from the superior power of Elliott and could not sustain long exchanges inside. Every round was very close but Elliott seemed the ringmaster for the majority of the time. A swollen left eye of Sanavia was a clear handicap for the Italian and also stated the effectiveness of Elliott's right crosses. Very little clean shots landed in this bout because of the high and tight guards of the two boxers. The unanimous verdict in favour of the Italian surprised many observers and Sanavia too. Sanavia told fans he was no so sure he won. The little tank faced a panzer and hadn't the weapons to fire back against. An attendance of 4000 people confirmed that good boxing obtains the right attention.