After Giovanni Sarchioto, who was eliminated in the first round, Davide Brito has also exited the Boxing Grand Prix. The Italian heavyweight began his round of 16 bout in Riyadh in excellent fashion, but then succumbed to a comeback by Bosnia’s Ahmed Krnjic and was defeated by technical knockout in the fifth round. The stoppage seemed premature and was fiercely protested by our fighter, even though his chances of overturning the outcome in the final three minutes were objectively slim.
For two rounds, Brito was nearly flawless. Circling his opponent with constant motion, frequently switching direction and cleverly bending at the waist to avoid presenting an easy target when cornered on the ropes, the Italian boxer completely disoriented his rival.
Krnjic pressed forward with great determination but consistently missed, getting countered by fast and unpredictable punches. Brito also showed greater craftiness in freeing his hands during clinches and catching his opponent off guard as they broke apart.
The Bosnian struggled so much to land clean shots that he resorted to illegally holding Brito with one arm while punching with the other—a move for which he was repeatedly warned by the referee. Unfortunately, only one of the three judges fully recognized Brito’s superiority, awarding him the first two rounds, while the other two had an arguably dubious draw after six minutes.
The momentum of the bout shifted in the third round. Brito began to lose his sharpness and started standing still more often, allowing his opponent to finally find the proper distance to land his signature left uppercut to the body—a true Krnjic trademark, which likely slowed the Italian down after repeatedly landing to his midsection.
As time went on, the close-range exchanges increased, as Brito’s quick lateral movement—so impressive in the early rounds—gradually disappeared. The Italian began to stand toe-to-toe with his rival and trade blow for blow: a very brave but ultimately unwise decision.
Although he managed to land punches at a frequency equal to or even higher than Krnjic, Brito’s shots were far less damaging due to a clear power gap that had been easy to foresee even before the fight. Two brutal left uppercuts to the chin by the Bosnian marked the beginning of the fourth round, and by the end of that round, our representative was trailing by two points on two of the official scorecards.
Krnjic’s boxing style was far from elegant and occasionally overstepped the rules with the use of elbows and forearms, but his pressure was effective and hard to contain. At the end of the fifth round came the decisive moment: a perfect left uppercut to the chin, followed by a quick right hand, sent Brito toward the canvas before a final wide left hook from Krnjic sealed the deal.
The Italian tried desperately to get back on his feet using the ropes, and he succeeded. He also listened to the referee’s instructions and moved in the indicated direction, but something in his eyes must have made the referee doubt, prompting him to stop the bout even though only a few seconds remained before the rest period.
Davide vehemently protested the decision, insisting he was fit to continue—and indeed, the footage seems to support his claim. On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that the fight had clearly shifted in Krnjic’s favor: at the end of the fifth round, he was ahead by four points on two cards and two points on the third. Brito would have needed a knockout to win, and judging by what had transpired in the ring, that was far from a realistic outcome.
The 28-year-old from Tuscany will need to analyze the match and figure out what caused him to abandon the strategy that had served him so well early on, before stepping into a playing field that greatly favored his opponent. In a division filled with slow and mechanical giants, Brito’s speed and creativity could be very sharp weapons—provided he finds a way to keep using them over longer stretches of the fight.