Mauro Forte is eager for redemption. After his promising rise in the international rankings came to an abrupt halt with the defeat he suffered in Albania at the hands of Spain’s Cristobal Lorente, the Italian chose an unusual path, dropping down by no fewer than two weight classes. That setback had cost him the European featherweight title; three days ago, however, Mauro claimed the EBU Silver bantamweight belt with a dominant performance against his friend Salvatore Contino. Only yesterday was the full fight footage made available, which is why we are discussing it today.
From the very first round it was clear that the pre-fight favorite was completely at ease in his new weight class: Forte confidently controlled the center of the ring, used his lead left hand to perfection—thrown with excellent timing from his southpaw stance—and masterfully slipped his opponent’s counters.
Forte’s superiority became even more evident in the following round, which ended with a beautiful knockdown, the result of a perfectly timed left hook to the face. Contino got back up promptly and was able to take advantage of the one-minute break, as the bell rang immediately after the referee’s count.
Confident that he had the fight under control, Forte slightly lowered the pace over the next two rounds, allowing Contino to land a nice combination early in the fourth round. However, his attacks were too sporadic to allow him to shift the momentum of the fight.
The fifth round was probably Contino’s best of the match, as he bravely accepted the exchanges and traded punch for punch. He did so at the cost of a huge expenditure of energy, which he paid for in the following round, dominated from start to finish by Forte, who also shook his opponent with a right hook near the end.
The former European featherweight champion continued to build his lead on the scorecards, alternating more intense phases with others in which he simply kept his rival at bay, circling him and measuring the distance with his jab.
Contino’s final surge came at the beginning of the eighth round with a generous two-handed attack, after which he was no longer able to do anything significant until the end of the tenth—particularly punishing—which proved to be the last round of the fight. Salvatore decided not to rise from his stool, complaining of a shoulder injury. In any case, the outcome of the bout was already sealed, both because of the huge points gap and the increasingly evident disparity in class.
A full-marks performance, then, for Mauro Forte, whose boxing—varied in solutions, elegant, and built on constant slips and counters—is truly a pleasure to watch. If we really want to split hairs and offer the Roman fighter something to work on, the pace is the aspect where he has the greatest room for improvement.
At times, in fact, Forte gives the impression of resting on his laurels a bit, leaving space and time to his opponent to think and take the initiative. On this occasion he could afford it, but at the highest international level he may face rivals who never ease off the gas, and against them it will be necessary to increase both work rate and intensity.