At the Palasport in Ferrara, the boxing event organized by Boxing Duran together with the Accademia di Ferrara, all under the supervision of Massimiliano Duran, took place. Among the most anticipated bouts was the vacant Italian flyweight title match between Ahmed Obaid (7-7-3), a Palestinian-born boxer now adopted by the city of Ferrara, and Vincenzo Rossi (6-0).
A technical boxer who had already attempted an assault on the belt, facing a heavy-handed fighter with 4 knockouts in his 6 wins.
In the end, the hometown boxer prevailed after ten dominant rounds, winning by unanimous decision (100-90; 100-90; 100-90) and neutralizing his co-challenger.
The first round began with Obaid immediately active with his jab and footwork, circling his opponent. Meanwhile, Vincenzo Rossi studied how to find the distance to open the guard of the Ferrara boxer, succeeding with a few isolated right hands.
In the second round, Obaid started to attack, pushing Rossi backward with three-punch straight combinations. Rossi still couldn’t get going, and when he did, he was met by the uppercut of his opponent, who showed a technical arsenal with several quality punches.
In the third round, Rossi began breaking into his opponent’s guard with right-hand leads, but they weren’t enough, as Obaid continued to move well and always answered with both hands.
There was excellent movement from Obaid in the fourth as well, even switching stance to elude his rival, who started to apply pressure but still struggled to find the right openings. A difficult night seemed to be taking shape for the Monza boxer.
The fifth and sixth rounds followed the same script. Obaid was executing the game plan perfectly and was visibly faster than Rossi, who simply could not find the right timing or distance and was also taking some significant right hands.
In the seventh and eighth rounds, Obaid looked extremely confident, planting himself, landing uppercuts, and disappearing from Rossi’s line of sight. A perfectly managed fight so far by the Ferrara boxer.
In the ninth, Obaid seemed incredibly fresh; his legs had worked nonstop all night, and he continued landing fast, accurate combinations as if it were still the opening rounds. In the final round, knowing the title was in his hands, Obaid could have managed the action, but instead kept throwing punches, wanting to close out a masterfully fought match in style.
The bout ended, and the decision could only be unanimous. Obaid and his corner had studied and executed exactly the boxing needed on a night like this.
An incredible pace by the new champion—Rossi was never able to show his boxing because he was completely neutralized. It’s unfortunate for the Monza fighter, but the Ferrara boxer truly looked unstoppable and unmanageable tonight.
I have followed Obaid’s fights several times, and I must say that this was, in my opinion, the best performance of his career. He truly deserved the belt, showing growth and significant maturity.