The Olympics of Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine (92 kg)
Round of 16: Mouhiidine (Italy) vs. Mullojonov (Uzbekistan)
The fight starts off difficult for our contender, who, due to a head clash resulting in a bad cut, fails to find the right distance to showcase his skills in the first round and is repeatedly surprised by his opponent’s timing, clearly losing the round.
Mouhiidine regroups in the second round and begins to gain confidence. The ring features two “mirror” boxers focusing on speed, timing, and footwork, with few heavy punches thrown. In a round with very few significant punches, our boxer stands out slightly more, deserving the preference, but the majority of the judges disagree.
Unable to hope for a reversal on the scorecards even by unanimously winning the final round, Mouhiidine should have fought an all-out third round, desperately seeking an unlikely KO. Instead, he opts for his usual style, boxing comfortably from a distance. The round remains largely balanced, but the Italian secures it with a strong final sprint.
Italian newspapers, websites, and social media explode with words like “robbery,” “scandal,” and “shame.” Reading some comments without having seen the fight, one might think it was a repeat of Roy Jones Jr.’s final at the Seoul Olympics. Personally, I disagree: Mouhiidine won the last two rounds by a narrow margin, showing hit-and-run boxing that doesn’t always captivate the judges. After clearly losing the first round, he should have shown more intensity and determination; doing the bare minimum to get ahead exposed him to a wrong but not outrageous or criminal verdict as many described.
The Olympics of Irma Testa (57 kg)
Round of 32: Testa (Italy) vs. Zichun (China)
The first round starts encouragingly for the Italian boxer: her left jab repeatedly lands on her opponent’s face, who struggles to close the distance. After a promising start, however, our contender forgets the importance of being incisive and stays out of danger with quick lateral movements. She deserves the round, but two of the five judges overlook the initial jabs and reward Zichun’s aggression.
The second round, after a confused start, proves very challenging for our boxer. The Chinese attacks relentlessly and, despite technical shortcomings, uses her physicality against Irma, who appears lost and worried. In the end, the Italian, with a burst of pride, lands the best punch of the fight: a magnificent counter right, strong and precise. It wouldn’t be enough to overturn the round in my opinion, but four out of five judges think otherwise and award the point to Testa.
It would take very little to reach the round of 16: convincing just one of the three judges who still have the match in the balance. However, in the third round, Irma seems tired, spinning like a top without giving weight or substance to her punches, often clinching and breathing heavily. Zichun doesn’t do much more except attack chaotically and ineffectively, but the complete jury, seeing almost nothing significant, rewards the Chinese’s greater grit.
Honor to Irma Testa for accepting the verdict without protests or dramatics: it’s clear that the Campanian boxer has made a huge leap in maturity compared to her first Olympics eight years ago when she contested a clear defeat. In this case, the fight was very balanced, but to win, our representative should have dared a bit more, planting her feet occasionally and putting power into her blows. True to her nickname, Irma flies like a butterfly and stings like a butterfly: to succeed in these major tournaments, a bit more venom is needed.
The Olympics of Angela Carini (66 kg)
Round of 16: Carini (Italy) vs. Khelif (Algeria)
Let’s set aside for now the controversies surrounding the Algerian boxer’s participation in the Olympics, which will be the subject of another article, and focus solely on what happened in the ring.
Angela faces her opponent in the center ring, and after a brief study phase, she is hit by a solid uppercut to the face. The Italian remains unfazed and stays in the pocket, but after a quick combination from Khelif, which barely seems to graze her face upon video review, she turns abruptly towards her corner, raising her arm and moving away from the Algerian. Coach Renzini is surprised, struggling to understand what’s happening, and adjusts her headgear, but Carini clearly states that she felt too much pain. Convinced by her coach to at least finish the first round, the Italian boxer returns to the center ring, but moments later, the scene repeats. This time, Khelif lands a precise punch, and once again, the Italian raises her arm and returns to the corner, signaling her intention to retire.
Personally, in my many years of writing about boxing, I have always defended boxers who decided to retire during a fight, feeling unable to continue. Expecting an athlete to always push through, regardless of the signals their body sends, is stupid and disrespectful towards those who, even in a sporting context, risk their health.
That said, this time my personal and therefore debatable feeling is that Angela Carini entered the ring with a clear idea of what was about to happen. Her reaction to her rival’s punches was unusual and unspontaneous. Typically, when a boxer feels pain, they immediately show their dismay: they cover up, clinch, or at most turn around or kneel. She, however, acted in a cold and automatic manner, giving a strong impression of following a script that was already clear in her mind.
Whether Khelif is such an overwhelming boxer making any opposition impossible will be revealed in the next rounds of these Olympics. For now, considering the Algerian athlete’s history, often defeated in major competitions, we feel that Angela Carini did not deliver a performance worthy of such an important tournament.
The Olympics of Diego Lenzi (+92 kg)
Round of 16: Lenzi (Italy) vs. Edwards (USA)
Bookmakers give our boxer very little chance of advancing in the tournament due to his inexperience. Probably Edwards, the American, thinks the same, approaching the first round too casually and quickly realizing the heavy hands of the Italian. The first round is overall balanced, but the judges reward the significantly greater impact of Lenzi’s punches.
The Italian boxer, perhaps due to the tension of the big occasion, begins to breathe heavily in the second round and reduces his work rate. A very harsh penalty point given to Edwards by the referee, however, makes the American’s comeback almost impossible.
The third round is one of suffering for Lenzi, who seems to have run out of energy and takes the fast combinations from Edwards. Fortunately, the American doesn’t have the power to capitalize, and while landing more punches than his rival, he doesn’t deliver the dramatic turn needed for a remarkable comeback on the scorecards.
I believe Edwards deserved more due to his greater consistency in the last two rounds. The jury thinks otherwise and values Lenzi’s concreteness, who nonetheless didn’t steal anything, and we’re fine with that.
Quarterfinals: Lenzi (Italy) vs. Tiafack (Germany)
In the first round, the difficulties our boxer will face in this fight become clear. Tiafack is faster and more experienced: he anticipates with quick punches and skillfully clinches when Lenzi manages to impose the short distance.
The Italian tries to increase rhythm and aggression in the second round but gets trapped and subdued by the German’s obstructionism, who knows every trick in the book. A couple of heavy combinations from Lenzi excite the crowd and could win him the round, but the jury punishes him for being too intermittent.
The third round is naturally influenced by the boxers’ awareness of the scorecards. Lenzi knows he needs a KO and attacks head down without, however, possessing the clarity and freshness necessary for a knockout; Tiafack, for his part, manages the remaining time with his usual rationality, using his experience advantage to avoid surprises.
The unfavorable verdict is certainly acceptable, although it leaves one wondering why Lenzi’s two fights were judged with two radically different standards, indicating that in these Olympics, every judge rewards what they please, without the shadow of standardized and shared criteria. An aspect that those responsible will certainly need to reflect upon.