Italy can celebrate: our prospect Fiorenzo Priolo has brilliantly advanced to the round of 16 at the prestigious Boxing Grand Prix tournament with a sensational comeback. The 22-year-old, trained by Cristian De Martinis, suffered a heavy knockdown in the first round but quickly got back to his feet and went on to dominate the next five rounds, clearly outpointing Turkey’s Efe Derin Konuk. All three judges were in perfect agreement, awarding the Italian a unanimous decision with scores of 58–55.
Priolo got off to a great start, keeping his opponent at the right distance and landing clean, fast shots. But perhaps the strong start made him relax too much, leading to a careless mistake that could have cost him dearly.
At one point, the Italian threw a rather lazy left jab and failed to bring his hand back quickly for defense. Konuk immediately capitalized, unleashing a powerful counter right hand that floored the Italian fighter.
Priolo got up without hesitation and looked perfectly clear-headed — his face showing more frustration at the mistake than pain from the impact. Fortunately, he made up for it right away with a superb second round that got him fully back in the fight.
The key to Priolo’s success was his outstanding work rate, which proved to be a lethal poison for Konuk, who had no antidote. For every shot thrown by the Turkish boxer, Priolo fired back with four or five in rapid succession, leaving him breathless.
Each round followed a similar pattern, with Priolo extremely focused on avoiding the trap that had caught him in the opening round. The boxer from Turin no longer stayed on the end of punches — instead, he kept hammering away non-stop, erasing the early deficit and taking control on the judges’ scorecards.
By the start of the final round, it was clear Konuk would need another knockdown to turn things around. But the Turk was already drained of energy, and Priolo wisely waited for him before countering sharply, giving him no real opportunities.
The final round was again in Priolo’s favor, although in the last 20 seconds — with victory within reach — he slightly eased up and took a few avoidable punches.
The judges’ verdict was absolutely correct, unanimously awarding Priolo every round from the second to the sixth, with a final three-point margin that we fully agree with.
In the quarterfinals, the Italian will face South Africa’s Ntethelelo Nkosi, who today defeated China’s Ju Wu by unanimous decision. As expected, the level of competition rises with each round, but Fiorenzo has shown he has what it takes to stand his ground against anyone, and we’re confident that today’s brilliant win will make him even more self-assured.
Click here to read our interview with Fiorenzo Priolo, published after his debut in the tournament.