Italy’s Vittoria Parigi Bini left everything in the ring, but it was not enough. In the main event of the 39th Primo Carnera Trophy in Sequals, Spain’s Chaima Bounouar captured the WBA Gold minimumweight title with a unanimous decision victory. The judges all returned identical 97-93 scorecards, a verdict that, in this writer’s opinion, was harsher than the Italian deserved after a highly competitive contest.
Bounouar’s determination and offensive threat were evident from the opening round. The Spanish fighter came forward aggressively, displaying impressive physical strength. Parigi Bini, looking to box as a counterpuncher, initially struggled to find the right answers.
The Italian shifted gears in the second round by taking the initiative and consistently beating her opponent to the punch. That forced Bounouar onto the back foot, preventing her from applying her trademark pressure and greatly reducing its effectiveness. It was a brilliant but energy-consuming strategy, one that Vittoria executed superbly through the end of the third round.
Whenever the Italian eased off the pace even slightly, however, Bounouar immediately regained the initiative and became dangerous again. It was no coincidence that, once the tempo slowed in the fourth round, the Spaniard emerged from her shell and got the better of the action.
The middle portion of the fight was marked by tremendous balance. Both fighters switched stances frequently in an attempt to catch each other off guard and engaged in a fascinating battle of timing, with momentum swinging back and forth. That pattern continued through the sixth round, after which Parigi Bini, perhaps believing she was behind on the scorecards, abandoned all tactical caution and went all-out.
That decision exposed the Italian to considerable risks. Charging forward relentlessly, Vittoria had to absorb Bounouar’s counterpunches, which looked particularly heavy in the seventh round. The Venetian fighter, however, refused to be discouraged and kept pressing at a furious pace, repeatedly backing her opponent onto the ropes and unleashing sustained flurries.
The ninth round was especially brutal, with both women trading fierce exchanges that kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Parigi Bini eventually paid the price for her tremendous effort, running out of gas in the final round. With both her physical and mental energy depleted, she became increasingly vulnerable to Bounouar’s sharp combinations and finished the fight with significant facial damage.
It was an extremely difficult fight to score, with numerous razor-close rounds that could reasonably have gone either way. Bounouar deserved credit for her superior defensive work and for inflicting the more telling damage, but in terms of rounds won, the two fighters were essentially even from my perspective. A 95-95 draw would have been my final scorecard.
The judges saw it differently, awarding a fairly wide victory to the Spanish boxer. To be clear, Bounouar did not steal the fight and her victory is perfectly defensible. Still, a four-point margin in favor of the visiting fighter after such a competitive contest came as something of a surprise.
Parigi Bini chose not to give the customary post-fight interview, most likely because of the disappointment of the result. Our hope is that she will not allow this setback to discourage her, because despite the defeat she once again showcased outstanding technical ability and tremendous character. At just 26 years of age, she has every opportunity to bounce back and achieve great things.