It was a fight worthy of a world title. After 12 intense laps, the surprise was complete. Vincenzo Gualtieri wins as an underdog against the Brazilian Falcao and is world champion. He is the first German since 2016 with a major world title.
By Jens Walbrodt (Wuppertal)
Vincenzo Gualtieri didn’t have to think twice. The ring announcer had just asked where the strength for this mammoth task came from… Gualtieri had just been given the belt of IBF World Champion. “The strength came from above,” said the new world champion. “Graciano!”
It’s like coming full circle. Graciano Rocchigiani once discovered Gualtieri and promoted it until “Rocky’s” accidental death in 2018. Gualtieri counts him as part of his family to this day. And now there is another parallel between them: Both became world champions of the large association IBF. Rocchigiani won the title in 1988, Gualtieri on that memorable July 1st, 2023.
Close fight with high intensity
It was an exciting and gripping duel up to the last round in Wuppertal. The underdog from Germany delivered a great fight against the Brazilian Esquiva Falcao, who also fought well. A frenetic university hall in Wuppertal drove the local hero Gualtieri forward.
From the start, a high-speed battle ensued. Falcao initially determined what was happening with his right leading hand. But Gualtieri was also able to land some good counterattacks right from the start.
Falcao already counted in round two
In the second round, the man from Wuppertal set the first exclamation mark of the fight. A left uppercut by Gualtieri first caught the Brazilian 2012 Olympic silver medalist’s liver, and another left uppercut immediately afterwards caught him in the head – Falcao dropped to his knees for the count.
But the momentum then changed every minute between the two fighters. Gualtieri continued to rely on his footwork and punched out of reverse. Falcao always managed to put Gualtieri in the corner of the ring. But the German also came through again and again with combinations to the head or the dangerous left uppercut.
Excitement in round seven
In the seventh round, the Uni-Halle in Wuppertal experienced another excitement. When attempting to free himself from a pressure situation with another left uppercut, Gualtieri’s punch landed well in Falcao’s low blow area. The Brazilian went down and rolled around screaming in pain. The referee counted Falcao out anyway, so the judges actually had to rate the situation as a knockdown. But then the referee stopped the fight and allowed Falcao a rest. He didn’t see the action as the German’s intention and allowed the fight to continue after a few minutes.
Fast pace to the end
In round 10 the favorite had to go down again. Falcao fell to his knees after being hit in the body and again complained that he had been hit too deeply. But the referee shook his head vigorously and counted out Falcao again – again a controversial situation, but in the end the German benefited.
The high speed that both fighters went was amazing until the end. The fight never seemed decided in rounds 11 and 12, both athletes repeatedly had good actions and hits.
After 12 tight rounds, the judges’ votes had to decide. And given the course of the fight, they were surprisingly unanimous. The Wuppertaler won unanimously on points and thus for the first time since 2016 a German boxer wears a belt with one of the four big world associations.
