If there was a true champion’s punch during the TAF11 (“The Art of Fighting 11”) event, it was the one Mohamed Elmaghraby landed to knock down Davide De Lellis and claim the Italian Light Heavyweight Title. A sensational blow — perfectly timed, sharply executed, and devastating in its impact.
At the Allianz Cloud in Milan, one of the night’s highlights was the clash between Mohamed “Momo” Elmaghraby (12-0-0, 5 KOs) and Davide De Lellis (11-3-3, 4 KOs), for the vacant Italian Light Heavyweight Championship.
Momo, a 29-year-old of Egyptian origin, entered the bout after two somewhat controversial victories over Stiven Leonetti Dredhaj. His opponent, 31-year-old Davide De Lellis from Pescara, came in riding a solid winning streak, capped by a majority decision win against Christian Schembri.
The fight was short-lived. De Lellis came out aggressively, trying to smother his rival and prevent him from finding his rhythm. However, Momo proved faster and more precise, and already in the opening round he hurt De Lellis badly with a right hook.
Just seconds into the bout, De Lellis suffered a cut over his left eyebrow, likely caused either by that punch or by an accidental clash of heads (the footage didn’t make it entirely clear).
Despite the cut, De Lellis kept pressing forward, but his loose guard left him open to several dangerous hooks from Momo. Davide landed a few solid shots — including a nice right uppercut in the second round — but overall his accuracy suffered, perhaps due to overexcitement. Momo, on the other hand, remained composed, counterpunching calmly and using his jab sparingly but effectively.
In the third round, De Lellis tried to break through his opponent’s defense with more thoughtful attacks, but Elmaghraby always seemed one step ahead — quicker in his combinations and faster to react to Davide’s punches. The brilliant right hook that ended the fight came just as De Lellis attempted to close the distance with a jab followed by a right hand. Momo anticipated the move perfectly and unleashed a precise counter right that sent De Lellis crashing to the canvas.
Though De Lellis managed to get back up, the referee wisely stopped the fight to protect the Abruzzese boxer, despite his protests — visibly frustrated and convinced he could continue.
Elmaghraby thus extends his unbeaten streak, crowning a fine performance with the Italian Light Heavyweight Title. For De Lellis, this is a setback, but it doesn’t erase the progress he’s shown in recent outings. We now await the next steps in both fighters’ careers.