Report from ringside – Osimo (AN)
What a great night it was yesterday in Osimo, at the Palabaldinelli arena, for an event organized by A&B Events and Team Magnesi in collaboration with Boxing Club Castelfidardo.
It was a well-organized show featuring several interesting fights, including two international titles: the IBF International and the WBC Mediterranean.
When we arrived at the venue, there was already a large crowd ready to cheer for local hero Charly Metonyekpon – and not just him.
Before the professionals, three elite amateur bouts took place to qualify for the national championships.
The arena kept filling up and the atmosphere got hotter as we approached the main fights.
Then the lights changed: time for the professional debut of Italy’s multi-medalist Aziz Abbes Mouhiidine, who won in impressive fashion against seasoned fighter Franco Catena in the heavyweight division. The fight opened with drama — a right uppercut from Abbes sent Catena to the canvas for a count, though he managed to get up. From that moment on, the bout went downhill for Catena, as the Campania-born champion imposed his trademark quality boxing: superb footwork, quick combinations — always a pleasure to watch him fight.
Catena, on the other hand, couldn’t find his timing. Abbes kept increasing the pace, and his opponent continued to struggle with the speed and in-and-out movement that made it impossible to set up his shots. A one-sided bout — “Hurricane” simply had too much for him. Still, credit to Franco Catena for lasting the distance despite a rough start and a tough fight. At ringside beside us was Salvatore Cavallaro, shouting advice and encouragement to his friend and teammate Abbes.
Next up were the bantamweights: Manuel Rizzieri of Team Magnesi delivered a convincing victory over Yin Calcedo. A very mobile and intelligent boxer who, as Alessandra Branco reminded us after the fight, will compete for the EBU Silver title in January — and he’s only 24.
Then came the bout for the WBC Mediterranean cruiserweight title, won by another Team Magnesi fighter, Saad Fathi, who stopped experienced Ivica Bacurin Sorra in the fifth round. The fight was fairly even early on, until Fathi landed a left hook–right uppercut combination that buckled Sorra’s legs, followed by a barrage of punches that forced the referee to step in. A great night for Team Magnesi.
Then came the main event, with the IBF International super lightweight belt on the line between Charly Metonyekpon and José “El Sultan” Rivas.
After a thrilling, hard-fought contest, the champion by unanimous decision (95–94; 96–93; 95–93) was our very own Charly, who once again showed incredible heart (his sister sadly passed away earlier this week).
It was a very even fight — two different styles, same intensity and desire to win.
Rivas started off using his reach advantage, working behind the jab, while Charly responded with sharp, accurate left hooks. In the second round, the hometown fighter pressed forward with three-punch combinations, but then came the unexpected — he was caught by a counter from the Venezuelan and went down. He got up and came back fighting, landing powerful right hooks while “El Sultan” kept boxing at range.
In the later rounds, both men raised the tempo. Charly turned into a storm, relentlessly moving forward; Rivas tried to time him again as he had in the second round but couldn’t find the shot. In the last two rounds, Charly kept an insane pace, working with both hands and finding his range despite Rivas’ good movement.
Our own scorecard also read 95–94 — a hard-fought, well-deserved victory.
A personal compliment goes to Alessandra Branco, a true professional — present in every detail, attentive and organized. Michael Magnesi was also there with his team, supporting his fighters. As we know, Magnesi will soon face Mark Magsayo in a crucial fight that could earn him a shot at the WBC world title.
All in all, it was a night full of great people, great boxing, titles, surprises, and emotions — one of those events that truly lift Italian boxing and remind us why we love this sport.