Emiliano Marsili knocks out Derry Mathews, wins vacant IBO lightweight title – Boxing news
The Olympia Arena in Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom was jam packed with crowd chanting slogans for their country boy Derry Mathews who defeated Emiliano Marsili in a brutal match for the vacant IBO lightweight title on Friday, January 20, 2012.
Derry, the 28-year-old Briton, was dreaming of becoming the lightweight world champion for the second time, but Marsili annihilated his ambitions viciously.
The 35-year-old Marsili, who hails from Italy, lacked support as only a small chunk of the crowd was cheering for him. However, the Italian proved after a bloody fight that he was intimidated neither by Derry nor by his home crowd.
To date, the Italian Emiliano has fought 24 bouts, winning 23 of them. His wins consist of 10 by knockout, hence gaining a knockout ratio of 40 percent. Apart from that, he has won Italy’s apex lightweight title four times which also includes his famous
brawl with Gassani; a bout that ended in just 24 seconds when Paolo got knocked out by Marsili’s ferocious punch.
Emiliano, in all his bouts, has never been defeated. This was the main reason why this bout was so important for the 35-year-old, since not only his winning streak was on the line but he also had a golden chance to win the vacant International Boxing Organisation’s
lightweight title. If the Italian number one had secured the title, it would have been his first ever title gained abroad.
On the other hand, Derry Mathews, the young Liverpool boxer, was fighting a foreigner in his locality. Derry is world’s number 78 lightweight. He has been into a total of 36 brawls, winning 29 of them. He has lost six bouts and has been able to draw one.
Derry nailed 15 of his opponents by knockout, securing a knockout percentage of 41.67 percent. The Briton was in an ideal position since he had his fans behind him and his requisite experience. Everything was right for him except his injured nose. Almost
2 and a half months ago, in his last bout with Gavin Rees, Derry broke his nose after receiving a head butt and the fight ended in a technical draw.
The bout between the two men for the vacant IBO lightweight title became bloody as soon as it started. Emiliano took full advantage of his rivals injured nose and targeted it with his fierce punches. As a result, Derry in front of his numerous fans was knocked
out cold and Marsili came out with the prestigious IBO lightweight title in just the seventh round of the brawl.
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