A hidden talent ready to shock the world, or a megalomaniac destined to crash into harsh reality? Gabriele Casella, known as “Il Magnifico,” in the role of professional boxer is a mysterious object, and as such he generates enormous curiosity. His professional boxing debut against the rugged Morike Oulare, scheduled for tomorrow night at the show organized by Edoardo Germani’s TAF and De Carolis Promotions at Rome’s PalaTiziano, will help us understand something more about this extremely ambitious Roman athlete.
A Wikipedia page stripped of its excesses
If you search online for information about Gabriele Casella, you’ll likely come across his Italian Wikipedia page which, in its current form, lists in a fairly dry manner the results he has achieved in the various combat sports he has practiced (Muay Thai, kickboxing and amateur boxing).
If, however, you had visited the same page some time ago, you would have found it stuffed with grandiose, over-the-top statements, clearly removed later by some user not too fond of bombastic hyperbole. There you could read sentences such as: “He boasts excellent handwork and an unpredictable, dynamic and astonishing use of his legs, in an extremely original and unique fighting style.”
Casella in boxing: the national triumph, the surreal interview, and the lesson learned
The fact that an athlete achieves prestigious results in other combat sports does not automatically mean he is suited to excel in boxing as well. Yet Gabriele Casella did step into the Sweet Science, showcasing his qualities by winning the 2019 Italian National Championships.
However, more than the final he won against Davide Brito—an uninspiring match with a frankly questionable verdict—what caused a stir that day was the interview Casella gave to a stunned Tommaso Gregorio Cavallaro after receiving the gold medal. In his very long monologue, Gabriele said, among other things: “I fight against nihilism, against the loss of values. We’re cheapening words more and more. We’re playing with the ephemeral, with useless things, with objects. Up there [pointing to the ring] it’s impossible: it’s a clash between men, black, white, Chinese, fat, skinny…” And then again: “I am a poet, I am an artist, I am a lover of the life of the ring.”
The following year, wearing the National Team jersey, Casella stood before a high-level international boxer: Spain’s Enmanuel Reyes Pla, who four years later would win Olympic bronze at Paris 2024. On that occasion, “Il Magnifico” received a true boxing lesson, being consistently made to miss and clearly losing all three rounds—so much so that his gesture of celebration at the final bell leaves us deeply perplexed.
The big gamble: debuting against Oulare
As the first part of this article likely made clear, Gabriele Casella has boundless confidence in his own abilities. Such self-belief has pushed him into an extremely bold approach to professional boxing: no soft entry fights, instead jumping straight in against a troublesome and dangerous opponent like Morike Oulare.
The Guinean-born boxer has already fought eight professional bouts, showing his strengths and weaknesses quite clearly. He is a pure pressure fighter, whose most dangerous weapons are his physical strength, relentless pace, and suffocating pressure. On the other hand, his tendency to load up on every punch reduces his accuracy and effectiveness, wasting part of the energy he pours out. Moreover, his gung-ho approach leads him to leave inviting openings for his rivals.
Against Roberto Lizzi in 2024, Oulare mostly highlighted his strengths, overwhelming a good opponent and rightfully beating him on points. The following year, however, when given the chance to fight for the Italian Title against Jonathan Kogasso, his flaws came to the surface. Morike recklessly exposed himself while charging forward and was punished with a brutal second-round KO.
Il Magnifico at a crossroads between the dream of challenging Kogasso and the risk of a disaster
The six rounds Gabriele Casella will fight at the PalaTiziano represent a crucial crossroads for the continuation of his career. A potential defeat would force him to drastically scale back his ambitions—which, at 31 years old, could even lead him to shelve his dreams of glory.
In case of victory, however, we are sure that “Il Magnifico” would launch himself toward yet another incredible gamble. Not by chance, even before stepping into the ring, Casella has already expressed his desire to face Kogasso, ignoring the fact that the boxer he mentioned has already collected 18 professional wins and is now heading toward prestigious international stages.
So what will happen tomorrow in the ring? Hard to say, given the huge number of unknowns surrounding Casella. How will he react to the intense pressure applied by his opponent? How will he take Oulare’s punches? How effective will his own power be in intimidating and containing him? With no previous reference points to rely on, we can’t answer these questions with certainty.
All that remains is to let the ring speak, to find out whether Gabriele Casella will truly prove as magnificent as his nickname suggests, or whether his goal of making a mark in meaningful boxing will remain nothing more than a chimera.