On Saturday night, the boxer from Salerno, Francesco De Rosa (9-0-0, 6 KOs), achieved an important surprise victory at the Skydome in Coventry. He knocked out the hometown fighter, Nyall Berry (10-1-0, 4 KOs), in eight rounds, despite being widely considered an underdog by the bookmakers before the fight. This marks De Rosa’s second professional victory abroad; last October, he decisively won on points in Germany against the Spaniard Farlin Condori.
During the early stages of the bout, fought at a decent but not frantic pace, De Rosa’s superiority in distance control and jab usage quickly became evident. As long as the two boxers tried to showcase their technique and timing, De Rosa had an easy time. He got so comfortable that, towards the end of the second round, he got a bit too relaxed and was caught off guard by a couple of dangerous rights while showboating in a southpaw stance.
Berry then tried to turn the fight into a brawl but found, to his dismay, that his opponent was not physically inferior. In fact, when the Englishman managed to pin De Rosa against the ropes at the end of the third round and bombarded him with punches, it was the sudden and explosive counterattacks from the Italian that caused the most significant damage. This trend continued into the next round when a right hook unbalanced Berry, leaving him exposed to a subsequent left hook that sent him to the canvas. De Rosa, with great intensity, sought the knockout, taking some excessive risks and exposing himself to a very dangerous punch just before the bell.
Advised by his corner, the Italian fighter resumed a more cautious and prudent approach in the following rounds, applying power to his punches only when spotting the right openings and relying on quick and precise straight shots for the rest of the time. A progressively more confused Berry fell behind on the scorecards, and when he tried to regain control, he quickly crumbled. A furious exchange in the eighth round pushed the hometown boxer towards the ropes, where a long barrage of punches forced him to his knees for another count. This time, Berry couldn’t regain the necessary clarity to continue: another knockdown, almost identical to the previous one, and a further assault by De Rosa prompted referee Michael Alexander to call a technical knockout.
The winner’s indescribable joy and that of his entire corner exploded immediately for this prestigious and somewhat unexpected victory. The team of the Salerno athlete showed great sportsmanship by consoling a disheartened Nyall Berry, who suffered his first professional defeat. More than for winning the little-known IBF European title, De Rosa can rightfully feel enthusiastic about his triumph for proving himself capable of competing on the international stage, a rare trait among Italian professional boxers, many of whom falter when they cross national borders.
The Salerno athlete still has significant room for improvement. Sometimes due to overconfidence and sometimes out of eagerness to close the deal, he found himself taking avoidable punches; in other instances, he lost balance after missing a punch. These are minor flaws that are perfectly normal for a boxer who was just in his ninth professional fight on Saturday and who will undoubtedly learn from the experience in Coventry to reach an even higher level in future engagements. Continuing on this path without rushing, the European super bantamweight title could undoubtedly become an achievable goal for him in the coming years.