The “Boxing Under the Stars” event, held in the picturesque Piazza Orsini del Balzo in Mesagne, crowned Diletta Cipollone (5-0, 1 KO) as the new Italian super bantamweight champion after she defeated Cristina Garganese (4-5) by unanimous decision in an intense, at times rugged and highly competitive contest. The judges’ scorecards read 96-94, 96-94 and 96-93, all in favor of Cipollone.
After a brief feeling-out process in the opening round, both fighters began exchanging punches with great intensity. The bout developed mainly at mid-range, with Garganese frequently trying to close the distance to set up her straight punches.
However, Cipollone’s intercepting shots proved effective thanks to her excellent timing, allowing her to contain Garganese’s attacks during the early stages of the fight.
Despite conceding a reach advantage, Garganese gradually found the right distance and timing to catch Cipollone with several well-timed straight punches.
Cipollone’s counterpunches, delivered while she often fought with her hands low in an apparent attempt to lure her opponent into opening up, proved particularly dangerous. Garganese struggled at times to read Diletta’s trajectories and find the appropriate adjustments.
In the fourth round, a crisp jab-right hand combination from Garganese seemed to spark a sustained offensive, but Cipollone quickly regained her composure and resumed keeping her rival at bay.
Diletta demonstrated excellent ring movement throughout the contest, frequently neutralizing Garganese’s attacks before they could fully develop. Around the midway point, however, Cristina began finding her range more consistently and became increasingly aggressive. After strong starts in both the fourth and fifth rounds, she continued the trend in the sixth, landing a sharp right hand while moving forward. Cipollone attempted to respond, but it became increasingly evident that she was more effective fighting off the back foot. Garganese took advantage by landing another beautiful straight right. By the end of the round, the impression was one of overall balance: Garganese’s punches were cleaner, while Cipollone remained the more dangerous fighter thanks to her superior physical strength.
A few borderline blows from Cipollone heated tempers slightly, although they appeared to stem more from excessive determination than from any malicious intent.
Aware that her pace had begun to fade, Cipollone adopted a more aggressive approach in the seventh round, although with less effectiveness than earlier in the fight. At the beginning of the eighth, however, she seemed to regain her composure and returned to the sharp, lively boxer seen in the opening rounds, once again disrupting her opponent’s rhythm.
Garganese began showing signs of fatigue, becoming less effective both offensively and defensively. As a result, she absorbed several clean punches in the ninth round and suffered a bloody nose.
At the start of the tenth and final round, Cristina produced one last spirited rally, once again landing her best punch—the straight right—and displaying tremendous heart. Cipollone, however, remained composed, and the final round turned into a grueling battle in which neither fighter held back, featuring repeated clinches that pushed the limits of the rules.
The unanimous decision, with relatively narrow margins, accurately reflected what unfolded inside the ring. Both boxers delivered excellent performances.
It was a deserved victory for Cipollone, who becomes the new Italian super bantamweight champion after imposing her style despite facing a determined opponent who managed to bring the fight back into contention after a difficult start. Garganese fought courageously until the very end and was betrayed only by fatigue in the closing stages of the contest.