A dream night in Carbonia for Italian women’s boxing: Italian fighter Gloria Peritore has claimed the vacant EBU European bantamweight title by defeating Spain’s Natalia Francesca on points in a high-intensity match. At the end of the main event organized by Alessandro Cherchi’s Opi Since 82, the judges unanimously scored the bout 96-94 in favor of Peritore, allowing her to strap the prestigious European champion belt around her waist.
From the opening exchanges, the stylistic contrast between the two contenders was evident: Peritore controlled the center of the ring, landing heavy shots, while Francesca circled around her with quick footwork and sudden offensive bursts.
The superior weight behind Peritore’s punches was immediately clear to the spectators and allowed her to take the early lead. When Francesca tried to suddenly raise the tempo at the start of round three, triggering furious exchanges, the Italian punished her with a powerful right hook that sent the Spaniard back on the defensive.
The intensity dipped slightly in rounds four and five, but the Italian continued to appear fully in control. Francesca, for her part, faced a tricky puzzle: trading punches exposed her lack of power compared to her rival, while keeping her distance gave Peritore free rein to apply pressure.
Francesca found a lifeline when her opponent took her foot off the gas between rounds seven and eight, clearly lowering her workrate. The Spaniard took advantage with a more energetic and proactive approach that helped her narrow the gap on the scorecards, though without achieving anything major.
In the final two rounds, both fighters—aware the European belt was on the line—went all-in, trading wildly at center ring but never neglecting their defenses. Most of the blows were blocked or deflected, and neither boxer managed to land a decisive shot.
After a high-level match that undoubtedly entertained the crowd, the judges’ decision appeared fair and reasonable. Personally, I would have given Peritore a slightly wider margin, but that’s a minor detail: the winner deserved to be crowned, and her opponent showed great determination.
Curiously, this was Natalia Francesca’s second defeat in a European title fight against an Italian opponent. In June last year, she was also outpointed by our own Veronica Tosi, who later vacated the belt.
Who knows—maybe one day we’ll be treated to a fiery all-Italian showdown between Peritore and Tosi. Given the styles of both fighters, it would surely be a spectacular war…