Last night, at the Palaghiaccio in Roana (Vicenza), the highly decorated Italian boxer Luca Rigoldi (32-2-2, 9 KO) successfully defended his WBC International featherweight title against challenger Davide Tassi (15-1-0, 7 KOs), winning by Technical Decision in the ninth round. The decision to proceed with an early reading of the scorecards was made on the recommendation of the ringside doctor due to an accidental clash of heads that opened a deep cut near Rigoldi’s right eye. These were the final scores: 89-83, 89-82, and 90-82, all in favor of the reigning champion.
There was curiosity leading up to this fight about how Tassi, still unbeaten and possessing a difficult-to-decipher style thanks to his southpaw stance, long reach, and quick footwork, would manage the experience gap against his more battle-tested rival. However, from the first moments, spectators sensed that Rigoldi, brilliantly guided in his corner by long-time coach Gino Freo, had meticulously prepared the best strategy to neutralize his opponent’s main qualities. The champion immediately took control of the center of the ring and began to advance with small steps, without overcommitting his punches, alternating rapid combinations with multiple feints. In doing so, he forced the challenger to remain constantly on edge, limiting himself in the first three rounds to moving frantically and focusing almost exclusively on defense.
Tassi showed signs of awakening in the fourth and fifth rounds, when Rigoldi, perhaps eager to change the pace of the fight, started to lose his composure slightly in an attempt to land heavier, more impactful punches, giving the challenger the opportunity to counter with some straight left hands. These efforts, however praiseworthy, were concentrated in the first half of the rounds and then gave way to the champion’s angry response.
The possibility of the fight returning to an even keel faded in the subsequent rounds due to two main factors. On one hand, a progressively swelling area near Tassi’s right eye negatively impacted the challenger’s vision, making it harder for him to avoid the left hands of his rival and forcing him into a more conservative approach. On the other hand, Gino Freo’s advice led Rigoldi to resume the cautious and patient approach of the early rounds, throwing punches only after closing the distance appropriately.
The final burst of a challenger increasingly hindered by the physical impairment of his eye came in the eighth round, perhaps the most balanced of the fight, where Tassi bravely tried to put more power into his punches in a desperate attempt to overturn the outcome of an already decided match. The end, however, was around the corner: a fortuitous clash of heads caused a deep cut on Luca Rigoldi’s face during the ninth round, prompting the referee to seek the doctor’s opinion and then call a halt to the hostilities. The early reading of the scorecards held no surprises, officially confirming the wide lead accumulated by the champion, who fully deserved it.
At 31 years of age and after 36 professional fights, Rigoldi still appears in excellent athletic condition. The Venetian boxer, forged by many battles that have allowed him to acquire all the tricks of the trade and made him capable of correctly interpreting any type of opponent, could now try to achieve the feat of becoming European champion in a second weight class. Already the holder of the European super bantamweight title from 2018 to 2020, Rigoldi was ranked fourth in the EBU featherweight rankings in May and is therefore among the boxers who can aim for the belt currently held by Italian Mauro Forte.
As for Davide Tassi, he will certainly be able to draw valuable lessons from this experience, having shared the ring with a boxer qualitatively much more skilled than all his previous opponents. The Tuscan athlete will likely carry some regret for the eye injury that prevented him from developing his boxing to the fullest, but given the determination with which he gritted his teeth and continued to fight despite the unforeseen handicap, it’s safe to bet that he will seek to make up for it in the near future by pursuing new prestigious challenges.