Salvatore Cavallaro has broken the ice. The Italian boxer, already the protagonist of a remarkable amateur career that saw him wear the national jersey for many years, made his professional debut yesterday under the management of young agent Davide Bianchi, defeating 21-year-old Venezuelan Omar José Leones Loiz by points over six rounds. The event, organized by the Cavallaro Boxing Team, took place at the Porte di Catania Shopping Center with the support of main sponsor Justmeben LTD.
Leones didn’t come to Sicily to play the role of a walk-on, nor to hit the canvas at the first punch. Unlike other Venezuelan boxers who in the recent past have delivered disappointing, submissive performances against our fighters, Cavallaro’s opponent — who entered the ring with an unbeaten record of 9 wins, 7 of them by KO — earned his paycheck.
With his statuesque physique and considerable size for the super middleweight division, Leones tried to load up every punch from the opening round, making it clear to Cavallaro that standing still in front of him would be unwise. Our boxer quickly recognized the danger and wisely relied on two-punch combinations before moving out of range.
Salvatore looked particularly comfortable in the second round, when — taking advantage of his opponent’s growing aggression — he could fight as a counterpuncher, making Leones miss with his somewhat cumbersome attacks and responding with quick, sharp shots.
The bout became somewhat chaotic during the third round. After Cavallaro landed a beautiful right hook, Leones reacted fiercely, connecting with a left hook of his own and lunging forward to force an exchange at close quarters.
During the action, a cut opened near Cavallaro’s right eye. The referee ruled it the result of a head clash and deducted two points from the Venezuelan.
Upon reviewing the available video footage, it appears that the cut may actually have been caused by Leones’s legitimate punch, as the subsequent head contact involved a different area of Cavallaro’s face — closer to the jaw than to the eye.
The referee went on to deduct another point from Leones after a further clash of heads, which seemed entirely accidental. It was therefore a rather home-biased refereeing, although Cavallaro didn’t need any help, as he had clearly won every round on merit.
In the second half of the fight, the Italian repeatedly tried to land his right hook off the lead, prompting protests from Leones, who accused him of hitting the back of the head. Some of those complaints were exaggerated, though in a few cases Cavallaro’s punches did follow too wide a trajectory to land cleanly on the target.
More effective and aesthetically pleasing were Cavallaro’s straight left hands, which found the mark with good consistency, especially in the last two rounds, highlighting Leones’s toughness. The Venezuelan absorbed numerous sharp blows to both body and head without ever losing composure — a testament to his durability and strong physical condition.
There was, of course, no doubt about the final verdict, which rightly awarded Cavallaro a unanimous decision.
Both the Italian boxer and his promoter Davide Bianchi deserve credit for not choosing a weak, unprepared opponent for such an important debut. Had they done so — following a harmful trend common among rising prospects — Cavallaro’s team would have learned nothing about the key areas to work on in the coming months.
On the contrary, the fighting spirit and solid performance of Leones helped to clearly reveal both Cavallaro’s strengths and the technical-tactical aspects that still need refinement, making the work of his trainer and father, Giovanni Cavallaro, all the more effective.
Ringside was former world super lightweight and welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, an American with Sicilian roots, who followed the main event alongside long-time commentator Remo D’Acierno, providing expert insights throughout the action.
The only downside of the otherwise excellent evening was the missed debut of Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine, who was supposed to begin his professional journey alongside his friend and former national teammate Cavallaro. Unfortunately, his scheduled opponent became unavailable shortly before the event, and no suitable replacement could be found in time.
We’re confident, however, that Abbes will soon have the chance to kick off what promises to be an exciting professional career.
At minute 02:53:40 of this video, you can watch the full fight of Salvatore Cavallaro: