Germany has a boxing world champion again. Vincenzo Gualtieri is crowned IBF Middleweight Champion in his home country. His first words go to a dead legend.
As the wild fight ticked towards the end with flying fists towards the end, when Vincenzo Gualtieri had finally beaten his opponent Esquiva Falcao after twelve hard rounds, the 30-year-old jumped through the ring like a dervish and screamed like a madman. After a big boxing battle with two downs and one low, the man from Wuppertal knew seconds before the final gong that he had won the IBF World Championship title in his hometown. Felix Sturm was once the last German to wear the prestigious red and gold belt before losing it to Australian Sam Soliman in 2014. Gualtieri has now been proclaimed champion in the limit of up to 72.57 kilograms. The judges’ verdict was unanimous (117:109, 116:110, 116:110).
Tears flowed. of happiness. But also sadness. Because Gualtieri’s mentor, the man who showed him the way to the university hall and thus to the title, is dead. Four and a half ago, boxing legend Graciano Rocchigiani died tragically in a car accident. And so the new world champion addressed the first words to “Rocky” after winning the fight. He received the unbridled strength for twelve highly intense rounds “from above, from Graciano”.
The two met in 2006, Rocchigiani immediately saw the talent in the young “Cenzo” and encouraged him. With “Rocky” behind him, Gualtieri had a decent amateur career, and in 2015 he became a professional – with Rocchigiani, who tried his luck as a trainer and promoter at the time. In 2017 “Grace” ran out of money, his boxing promotion in Berlin filed for bankruptcy. Gualtieri joined the Agon boxing stable, which kept close ties with Rocchigiani.
Left uppercut that “Rocky” would have been proud of
Like a raging bull, the 30-year-old opened the main fight on this Saturday evening – a pace that terribly surprised Falcao, who was coached by star trainer Robert Garcia. The fitness monster from Wuppertal did not tactic as expected, but immediately went on the offensive. Already in the second round Gualtieri sent his opponent on the boards. A left uppercut that “Rocky” would have been proud of. Very few had expected the early coup. Falcao, a technically gifted southpaw and not without reason a silver medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games, was considered the clear favorite by pundits and bookies. But, the Gualtieri, enthusiastically cheered on by around 2,000 spectators, cared very little about the strengths of his opponent. Self-confident and in top condition, he initially scored the clearly better hits, also confused the guest from Latin America with quick displays, boxing sometimes as a right-hander, sometimes as a left-hander. Gualtieri was “Il Capo” in the ring, the boss, as he calls himself.
“I went in, did what I wanted – and that’s how we grabbed the title,” said the newly crowned world champion after the triumph on RTL / ntv. His trainer didn’t give him any fixed tactics in the ring, but simply told him to do “what I think is right”. Gualtieri did, even if the fight was no picnic. In the middle rounds, Falcao got into the fight better, and Gualtieri also had to swallow a lot. In the seventh round, the local hero almost sent his opponent over the Wupper with an unintentional low blow. Falcao screamed in pain, got the five-minute time-out provided for in the rules – and remained dangerous.
In the so-called “Championship Rounds” (rounds ten, eleven, twelve) Gualtieri took control of the action again, in the tenth Falcao fell to his knees a second time after a left uppercut. There was no doubt about the German’s point victory, Falcao coach Garcia (last year coach of superstar Anthony Joshua) called the unanimous verdict in favor of Gualtieris a “great decision”. Congratulated and disappeared into the cabin.
It was the first professional defeat for the 33-year-old Brazilian. Falcao had won all his fights before the duel, a remarkable two-thirds of them early. He failed at Gualtieri and his steeled chin. The underdog went into the fight with 20 wins, only seven decided by knockout, one duel ended in a draw. Falcao was surprised by the power of his shots in front of his home crowd.
First “real” German boxing world champion in years
Gualtieri is the first “real” German world boxing champion in years. Right, because he has conquered the title of a large, recognized world association. The IBF crown has already been worn by legends such as Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Bernard Hopkins and most recently Gennadiy Golovkin. Because the Kazakh had resigned the title, Gualtieri and Falclao came into play. Graciano Rocchigiani also won his first world title at the IBF, in 1988 in Düsseldorf, one class higher in the super middleweight division.
“Graciano would have had plenty to complain about, as with every fight,” Ralf Rocchigiani joked after the nerve-wracking battle: “But I think he would have been very proud today.” The relationship between his brother and Gualtieri was special, emphasized the 60-year-old. “If you knew Graciano, you noticed that when he was standing in Vincenzo’s corner, he was a bit more off than with the other boxers. His pulse would certainly not have been measurable today, that would certainly be extreme today been for my brother.”
Will Gualtieri’s triumph make professional boxing popular again in Germany, making it a mainstream sport again? “We have definitely set a milestone. Now the television stations have to come, then German boxing can come back up,” said the new world champion, whose crowning glory could only be seen in a paid live stream. Axel Schulz is optimistic that things are looking up. “I do believe that Vincenzo can give a boost there,” said the former German boxing hero. “He’s just a great guy, he’s the way he is, he doesn’t pretend. He has a lot of what Graciano also had. He fits into the world so well. It would be great if many people now associate boxing with it again. “
Culcay also beckons world championship fight
In any case, the evening program of the Agon boxing stables in the university hall was certainly advertising for the price war. Before Gualtieri, Italy’s Etinosa Oliha had won the vacant IBO middleweight title. “El Chapo” (also signed to Agon) defeated Chilean Julio Alamos by unanimous decision. Like the later “Main Event”, the twelve-round fight was characterized by high intensity and wild hail of blows. Like his WBA and IBF titles, Golovkin had also laid down the IBO belt.
Meanwhile, another German boxer, light middleweight Jack Culcay, is about to win a world title fight. The 37-year-old knocked out the Argentinian Juan Adrian Monzon in the second round in a completely one-sided build-up fight in the opening act. Culcay celebrated his 33rd victory in his 37th professional fight and remains number two in the IBF rankings. In the fall, “Golden Jack” – 2009 amateur world champion – could fight for the IBF title in the limit of up to 69.85 kilograms.
World Champion Jermell Charlo, who also holds WBA, WBC and WBO belts, moves up two classes to super middleweight for a blockbuster against superstar Canelo Alvarez. The IBF belt could become vacant, or Culcay could box for an “interim” world championship. “Exactly, I’ve been waiting for this for three years to get this chance. If Charlo makes room, I’ll fight the number 1 in the ranking for the title,” said Culcay in an interview with ntv.de. In that case, the Berliner would meet Bakhram Murtazaliev from Russia.
The Agon boxing stable, where Culcay is under contract, is confident that the World Cup chance will work out. Sporting director Horst-Peter Strickrodt said they spoke to the IBF and expect to announce the title fight in the coming days. The prospects for German boxing have been worse.