Friday, April 16, 2021

Turchi Wins European Championship

 Fabio Turchi scored a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Dylan Bregeon to win the vacant European Cruiserweight championship on Friday night at the Allianz Cloud in Milan Italy. Bregeon, who entered the bout as the French Cruiserweight champion, did a masterful job through the first five rounds of the fight by using his height and reach to control the distance between himself and Turchi by landing straight left hands and right jabs from the southpaw stance as Turchi came forward and moving to maintain distance where he had the advantage. The ebb and flow began to change in round six when Turchi was able to close the gap between himself and Bregeon. 

 

It was during these sequences that Turchi appeared to get the better of the combat when he was able to get on the inside and land more than occasionally. Although the tide had clearly turned in Turchi’s favor in the middle rounds, Bregeon remained very competitive and was able to counter Turchi effectively in spots even when the combat was fought on the inside. This dynamic continued until the final bell where Turchi earned a unanimous decision as all three judges scored the bout by the narrow margin of seven rounds to five or 115-113 in points in his favor. Fabio Turchi advances to 19-1, with 13 Knockouts. Dylan Bregeon falls to 11-1-1, with 3 Knockouts.

 

Also on this card:

 

In a battle for the vacant Italian Super-Middleweight championship undefeated Ivan Zucco scored a sixth round stoppage over previously unbeaten Luca Capuano. Zucco applied steady pressure on Capuano from the outset. A bout that quickly developed into a contrast between a puncher in Zucco and a boxer in Capuano, both men had sucvess, but as the fight progressed Zucco’s power became the distance in landing some heavy body shots and forcing Capuano backward. In round three Zucco stunned Capuano with a left hook behind a right jab from the southpaw stance. This set off a barrage of offense for a period of time, but Capuano was able to survive. In rounds four and five, Capuano was able to slow the pace slightly, but did not land anything to discourage Zucco from coming forward. 

 

Zucco was able to land another flush left hook behind a right jab late in round six. Essentially, the same sequence that had Capuano hurt in round three, this would have a similar result as Capuano was able to survive the round, but quit in his corner at the conclusion of round six giving Zucco the victory and the Italian Super-Middleweight championship. Ivan Zucco advances to 13-0, with 11 Knockouts. Luca Capuano falls to 11-1, with 2 Knockouts.

 

Former European Lightweight champion Francesco Patera scored a hard fought eight round unanimous decision over late substitute opponent Nicola Henchiri. In his first bout since a bout with COVID-19 in December, Patera had to contend with a difficult opponent that came to fight, held his own throughout, and left an impression that he may have gotten the better of the action at the conclusion of a very competitive eight round bout. Patera however, was able to do enough in spots, was more accurate with his offense, and was able to earn the unanimous decision as a result. Official scores were: 79-74, and 78-74 (On two scorecards) in favor of Patera. Francesco Patera advances to 24-3, with 8 Knockouts. Nicola Henchiri falls to 9-4-2, with 0 Knockouts.

 

 

Jr. Middleweight Samuel Nmomah remained unbeaten by scoring an eight round unanimous decision over Kassimou Mouhamadou. A very tactical bout where both fighters had periods of success early in the fight, Nmomah was able to pick up his pace over the second half of the fight and landed several hooks and right hands that seemed to give him the edge. Nmomah’s surge in the second half of the bout proved to be the difference that allowed him to earn the decision victory. Official scores were: 79-73 (On two scorecards) and 77-75 in favor of Nmomah. Samuel Nmomah advances to 15-0, with 4 Knockouts. Kassimou Mouhamadou falls to 7-3, with 3 Knockouts.

 

 

Undefeated Jr. Welterweight Armando Casamonica pounded out a one-sided six round decision over a “Game” veteran Matija Petrinic. Casamonica had Petrinic on the defensive from the outset and kept him from being able to get off consistently. At the conclusion of the six round bout all three judges scored every round in favor of Casamonica 60-54. Armando Casamonica advances to 2-0, with 0 Knockouts. Matija Petrinic falls to 1-6, with 0 Knockouts.

 

Undefeated Featherweight Mauro Forte in a non-televised preliminary bout by scoring a six round unanimous decision over Cristian Narvaez. Mauro Forte advances to 15-0-1, with 5 Knockouts. Cristian Narvaez falls to 16-25-6, with 1 Knockout.

 

Former European Flyweight champion Mohammed Obbadi now competing in the Jr. Bantamweight division began the evening by scoring a six round decision over Joel Sanchez. Mohammed Obbadi advances to 22-1, with 13 Knockouts. Joel Sanchez falls to 4-16-1, with 2 Knockouts. 

 

Fabio Turchi’s victory over Dylan Bregeon now opens the door to a potential rematch with the only man to defeat him Tommy McCarthy, who scored a twelve round split decision over him in October 2019. McCarthy is scheduled to face Alexandur Jur of Romania on May 15th in Manchester, England. What makes this interesting and a bit confusing is McCarthy is also recognized by the European Boxing Union (EBU) as its Cruiserweight champion and McCarthy’s bout with Jur is scheduled to be a title defense. 

 

While unclear as of this writing as to whether Fabio Turchi did in fact win the European championship with his victory over Bregeon or if it gave him some sort of interim status for the title that McCarthy holds, if McCarthy is successful against Jur next month a rematch between himself and Turchi is one of the more attractive bouts that could be made in the Cruiserweight division outside of the world championship picture. Although the Cruiserweight division has long struggled for consistent exposure and mainstream appeal here in the United States for the last thirty-five years outside of the era when Evander Holyfield was the division’s central figure before moving onto Heavyweight, the division has thrived internationally. Fighters such as Fabio Turchi and Tommy McCarthy could well be the next focal points of the division in time and while there is a quiet depth of world champions and top contenders, a rematch of a very close fight could be the second chapter in a great rivalry that will elevate both fighters as well as the Cruiserweight division.

 

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

 

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