Another incredibly tough away bout awaits an Italian boxer. Our heavyweight Gianmarco Cardillo will fly to New York, where he will face two-time Olympic champion Bakhodir Jalolov on July 26 at the iconic Madison Square Garden. The fight will take place on the undercard of a Top Rank event promoted by Bob Arum, headlined by the WBO super welterweight world title bout between Xander Zayas and Jorge Garcia Perez.
Gianmarco Cardillo is 36 years old, a two-time Italian heavyweight champion with a professional record of 12 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws. He has never fought outside of Italy, and among the best opponents he has beaten we can mention fellow Italians Ivan Di Berardino, Alfonso Damiani, and Emanuele Venturelli.
In his last outing between the ropes, in September of last year, the boxer from Cassino lost the national title to Tuscan southpaw Eduardo Giustini, who confused him with his movement and stance, winning most of the ten rounds.
Bakhodir Jalolov also fights from a southpaw stance like Giustini, but his amateur record, skillset, and the expectations surrounding him are on an entirely different level compared to our Italian heavyweights. The towering Uzbek has won Olympic gold at both the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Games, displaying exceptional talent.
Standing over two meters tall and blessed with extremely long arms, explosive power, solid fundamentals, and good mobility, Jalolov has won all 15 of his pro fights, 14 of them by knockout. The only opponent to hear the final bell against him so far has been Ukrainian Ihor Shevadzutskyi, who lost on points just over two months ago in Astana.
On paper, the match between Jalolov and Cardillo looks like a real uphill battle for our representative, who will be facing a vastly more dangerous and better-equipped opponent than anyone he’s ever encountered. Still, the Italian deserves admiration and respect for accepting such a daunting challenge — one that many others would have turned down without a second thought.