Tonight’s main card of the major “Natural Born Thrillers” event, promoted by Queensberry Promotions at London’s O2 Arena, opened with a bout between Guido Vianello (14-3-2, 12 KOs) and Britain’s Moses Jolly (12-0-1, 8 KOs), which ended in a frustrating draw for the Italian heavyweight.
Guido is no stranger to stages like this, having spent seven years with Bob Arum’s Top Rank before making the move to Queensberry. This was a hugely important crossroads for Vianello, who was coming off an impressive victory over Barriere and was looking to continue rebuilding his momentum in style after missing out on his opportunity against Torrez Jr. in the United States last year. Unfortunately, things did not go as hoped.
The Fight
Both fighters come out firing from the opening bell, with no feeling-out process whatsoever. Vianello immediately lands a right uppercut, but Jolly shows plenty of aggression, employing his own unconventional style and a dangerous jab.
In the second round, Vianello continues to find success with the right uppercut, but Jolly takes the shots and fires back. The Rome heavyweight also frequently catches his opponent with the straight right, and the English fighter of Jamaican descent develops a cut underneath his right eye.
In the third round, following instructions from his corner, Guido begins to make greater use of his jab. There have been plenty of clinches so far, most of them initiated by Jolly, whose technique looks rather untidy but who remains extremely physical and aggressive.
In the fourth, Jolly presses forward and catches Vianello with several combinations, putting him under pressure and also opening a cut around Guido’s left eye. It is a difficult spell for the Italian.
At the start of the fifth round, the referee calls the doctor over to examine Guido’s bleeding left ear. The cut, however, is external and his eardrum does not appear to be affected. The action resumes with both fighters remaining aggressive, throwing single, loaded-up punches. Vianello moves and slips before coming back with his own shots, while Jolly loads up and lets go with wide but heavy punches.
The pace drops in the sixth. Both men appear to be feeling the effects of the fight, but Vianello moves well and puts together combinations, with his right hand continuing to find the target. Whenever Jolly lands, however, his punches carry a clear sense of power.
The final two rounds turn into an all-out war. Any tactical plans go out of the window as Jolly continues to march forward relentlessly, while Vianello moves out of his line of attack and fires back with combination after combination. Both men make a huge effort to secure the decision despite the fatigue becoming increasingly evident.
When the score is announced, the referee’s 76-76 draw leaves the Italian deeply disappointed, while Moses looks decidedly pleased with the result.
The home fighter accepted the bout on just 15 days’ notice and, despite not being considered among the world’s leading heavyweights and possessing a rather unorthodox and untidy style, he managed to cause our Guido plenty of problems.
Of course, nothing is lost after a draw, but we had expected a very different kind of night and a different springboard for Vianello’s debut in England. We will now have to see where his newly begun journey with Queensberry Promotions takes him. Our feeling is that his next fight could pit him against a high-calibre opponent, one against whom “The Gladiator” will have to give everything he has.