Italy at the center of boxing Europe: three titles in one night. Forte vs Grandelli the highlight, the coachbuilder against the former footballer

Italy of boxing in the center of Europe. Three continental titles, all in one night. He proposes them Opi Since 82appointment on Friday evening at the Palasport of Tivoli. Many stories will intertwine in a ring that will be both the arrival point for adventures that began almost as a game but also a springboard for even more prestigious goals. The meeting, which in Italy will be broadcast by Daznit will also go live on Use espn. In short, an opportunity to show off even overseas.

The highlight, the European featherweight title up for grabs, will be an Italian derby. Mauro Forte against Francesco Grandelli. It is a rematch, even if in their first match dated November 2021 there was no winner: equal verdict after 12 very tight rounds.

Mauro Forte, between the ring and the family body shop

Mauro Forte he is 29 years old, Roman from Galeria Bridge, area west of the capital. A good level boxer, but to get by he also has to do something else: “I work with my father and brother in the family bodyshop, I’m all home and gym. I define myself as a quiet type. I’ve been living together for seven years, but my passion for boxing it started a lot earlier, when I was 14. This European Championship is a fundamental milestone for my career, it could open world roads for me. There isn’t always the possibility of having a broad visibility like next Friday.” Forte looks ahead, still fresh from last weekend’s emotions: “My boxer of reference is Gervonta Davis, in the victory against Garcia confirmed what it means to be in the ring. In my opinion, and I’m making a comparison with football, he’s a sort of boxing Messi”. A rematch presents, if possible, even more unknowns than the first: “I confirm, because you’re trying to improve on your previous mistakes but you’re facing an opponent who knows you well. This is also why I left no stone unturned and trained with Jordan Gill, who has already held this European. When you train with people like him, self-esteem goes up a notch.”

Grandelli, a past as a footballer before embracing only boxing

Francesco Grandelli, 28 years old, of They change, in the province of Turin (“But my father is Calabrian and my mother is Sicilian”). The last match in April 2022, then an unnerving inactivity: “I am affected by the situation in our boxing. Sometimes you go all out, then you stop. It is not easy to find the reasons to stay charged, I look for them in the work done previously and I tell myself that throwing everything away would be a sin”. He is an eclectic Grandelli, one who before turning professional played football even at a moderate level: “Chisola, Esperia, teams of Piedmontese excellence. Then boxing completely absorbed me”. In short, a story of sacrifices and passion: “I work in activities related to boxing, taking courses in the gym. Then I also work as a security guard. In practice, sometimes I leave the house at 6 in the morning and return at 10 in the evening “. A possible lifestyle also for the person next to him: “I’ve been living with the same partner for ten years, she’s also a sportswoman, she likes a healthy life, she helps me in my commitments”. The boxer of reference is Lomachenko, and like the Ukrainian he tends to leave the floor in the ring: “As the match approaches I don’t like theater, but then I propose carefree boxing, I like people to like me”

Stephanie Silva, European defense with an eye to the World Cup

If Forte and Grandelli are aiming for Europe, he is already sitting on that throne Stephanie Silva. The Roman, European super flyweight champion, is already on the radar of US boxing, number 5 in the world rankings. On Friday you will have to beware of the French woman’s assault Mailys Gangloff, guy not to be underestimated: “She had tough matches like the one against Ebanie Bridges (world champion, ed), I know I have a strong athlete in front of me so I get into the ring with maximum concentration”. Stephanie, who in life helps her mother run a clothing counter in a Roman local market, is becoming a good point of reference for a constantly growing women’s movement: “A girl who is fascinated but is a little afraid of approaching boxing, I would tell you that boxing is a beautiful journey. When you enter the ring, regardless of the result, you experience emotions that nothing else in the world can give you”.

Simona Salvatori, the lawyer of the ring

The other European title of the evening will see Simone Salvatori to the assault of the rooster title. Tough opponent, the French Johanna Wonyou won all the matches played (8, also closing 2 times before the limit). “I’ve been living in apnea these last three months, it’s an obsession. I teach boxing and I tell my students that obsession transmuted into tenacity, resistance and desire to improve is the basis for success”. A character with many facets, she is also a criminal lawyer: “I’ve never been a phenomenon, in my life in boxing. I wasn’t the one who managed to learn a notion or a boxing movement in a short time. But I’ve always had the constancy, the hammering of situations”. That constancy that is found in her alias, “black dog”. Johanna is warned.