Live report – Allianz Cloud, Milan
A great night of sport, with a warm and passionate crowd, the company of a group of friends (Gabriele and company) met at the venue — kind, friendly and cheerful people — and a scandalous decision that managed to unite the entire Allianz Cloud audience in a chorus of boos rarely so deserved. In short, this was the essence of the boxing event held last night in Milan during TAF 13, The Art of Fighting.
Below is the recap of the undercard.
Opening the show were Gianluca Merone (3-2-1, 2 KOs) and Andres Perez (12-24-3, 3 KOs) in a six-round super welterweight bout. The two fighters produced a fairly balanced contest, with good punches landed by both men, although consistency was lacking. The impression was that both boxers were already low on energy after the early rounds. A final surge came in the sixth and last round, with both men giving everything they had left. At the end of the fight, Merone earned the points victory thanks to cleaner work and more accurate punches.
Next up were junior welterweights Gerardo Scalcione (4-0, 3 KOs) and Luca Grusovin (1-4-1) in another six-round contest. Scalcione’s excellent counterpunching clashed with Grusovin’s constant forward pressure. The two exchanged good shots, but Gerardo appeared more effective overall and dropped Grusovin with a counter punch in the third round. Luca got back to his feet and finished the round, but at the start of the fourth the decision was made to stop the fight. From the stands it was not entirely clear why. Gerardo Scalcione was therefore awarded the victory.
The following six-round bout featured light heavyweights Yohan Acosta (5-0, 2 KOs) and Inoussa Nonkane (3-4, 1 KO). It was a rough and scrappy affair, filled with clinches and dirty shots. Acosta looked more composed and technically polished, while Nonkane was somewhat predictable, relying almost exclusively on wide, telegraphed hooks. Despite his aggressive approach, Nonkane failed to land clean punches, unlike Acosta. The fight went the distance and the verdict went to Acosta, who won on points.
The fourth bout on the card featured super middleweights Yassin Hermi (16-3-1, 12 KOs) and Joshua Nmomah (14-3, 5 KOs) over eight rounds. Nmomah started aggressively, but Hermi’s punches made themselves felt immediately, discouraging overly reckless attacks. Joshua gradually lost cohesion, allowing Yassin to dictate the action while staying too square in front of his opponent. Standing still against a heavy-handed boxer like Hermi is certainly not the ideal strategy, although Nmomah did show that he was not intimidated. Whenever he took the initiative and stepped in behind straight punches, he had some success. However, his work rate remained too low, allowing Hermi to control the pace of the fight at will. Nmomah was more composed technically, but far too passive compared to Hermi. Hermi’s boxing is not exactly orthodox or stylistically refined, but he knows how to hurt people. Ultimately, Nmomah simply lacked the initiative necessary to swing the verdict in his favor. Hermi deservedly won on points, having been the more proactive fighter and the one who landed the more dangerous shots.
Up next came super welterweights Valerio Mantovani (7-1, 3 KOs) and Maxim Prodan (25-3-1, 18 KOs). The scheduled eight-round fight was truly thrilling, a brutal battle fought at close quarters with both men exchanging heavy punches without holding back. Prodan started aggressively, while Valerio needed a round to warm up. From the second round onward, the exchanges became fierce. Mantovani frequently landed left hooks, but Prodan repeatedly closed the distance and hammered away at his tightly covered opponent. The fight then evolved into a real war. Despite possessing remarkable offensive weapons, Mantovani tends to linger too long in defensive phases, leaving himself exposed with his guard low. A brief post-fight conversation with Valerio, smiling and approachable, confirmed his desire to exchange punches and his dangerous taste for open warfare. However, this excess of bravado, combined with the mentality of a true fighter, leads him to absorb too many shots — something that could shorten his career over time.
Prodan is also a dangerous puncher with heavy hands and was more than willing to engage in the same type of battle. Neither man held back, and the momentum swung constantly. The third round began with Maxim pressing forward, but several heavy right hands from Valerio quickly turned the tide again.
The fight continued with sudden momentum shifts and heavy exchanges. Prodan appeared more cautious, shelling up whenever he came under pressure. Valerio, meanwhile, maintained a fearless attitude, almost inviting his opponent to hit him while waiting for the right opening. Offensively, Mantovani confirmed that he possesses quality weapons: heavy hands and solid footwork that allow him to vary the angles of his attacks. At the end of the eight rounds, the crowd’s applause highlighted the excellent performance of both boxers. The points victory went to Valerio Mantovani, who proved to be the more dangerous and effective fighter. He will now have the opportunity to fight for the Italian title.
The sixth and final undercard bout featured southpaw Vincenzo Lizzi (4-1, 1 KO) against Mohamed Elmaghraby (15-0, 7 KOs) in a light heavyweight clash serving as an eliminator for the Italian title. And here we witnessed the worst thing that can happen in boxing: a completely fabricated verdict.
The fight saw both men engage immediately and begin exchanging punches. Lizzi stood out right away for the excellent timing with which he landed his shots. He took the initiative and constantly tried to close the distance, repeatedly landing straight left hands. Momo struggled to get into the fight and let his hands go. Lizzi looked solid, reactive and fully focused, while Elmaghraby indulged in useless antics that achieved nothing and were immediately punished by Vincenzo — a clear sign of a highly questionable approach to the contest. Despite his lesser experience, Lizzi appeared more concentrated, sharper and quicker. With his lead left hand, he exposed Elmaghraby’s lack of mobility, as the latter remained too static and flat-footed. To complete an excellent performance, Lizzi maintained a very good work rate, unlike Elmaghraby, who kept desperately looking for single power shots.
Now, let me be absolutely clear to avoid any misunderstanding: Elmaghraby did not win a single round. At most, being generous, one might possibly give him the seventh. Other than that, Vincenzo Lizzi clearly deserved to win the fight and, moreover, was never really in trouble.
The judges quite literally invented the decision by awarding the victory to Elmaghraby. It is not my place to speculate about the reasons behind such a verdict. But allowing this to pass unnoticed is simply impossible: the judges’ decision was utterly scandalous. The crowd itself unanimously expressed its outrage with a deafening chorus of boos, drowning out both the announcers and Elmaghraby’s voice. And Elmaghraby could think of nothing better than delivering laughable statements (“I am the best”) instead of giving proper credit to an opponent who had clearly beaten him. A terrible attitude, unacceptable at the high level he supposedly aspires to.
A report on the two main fights of the evening will follow very shortly.