On Friday at Palazzo dello Sport in Rome (Italy), Emiliano Marsili will fight Victor Betancourt for the WBC Peace lightweight championship.

Former undisputed world super welterweight and middleweight champion Nino Benvenuti (from 1965 to 1970 he won and defended simultaneously the WBC and WBA belts, in that era there were only two organizations sanctioning world title fights) was at the press conference held last Wednesday in Rome and has something to say about the fight.

“Emiliano Marsili is a fighter who reminds me of the old timers. He has a modern fighting style, but he doesn’t do only what it takes to win. He always gives 100% like the fighters of my era did. He will have to do that to beat Victor Betancourt.

“Like all Mexican fighters, Betancourt goes to war each time he steps in the ring. To beat that kind of warrior, Emiliano will have to look inside his soul and give his best. Training the right way is not enough. Every fight is a different story. When the strategy doesn’t work, a fighter must improvise, must adapt, must find the mental strength to win. I’m convinced that Emiliano has the qualities to win on Friday 23.”

The WBC Peace championship is promoted by Opi 82 company led by Salvatore Cherchi and Federazione Pugilistica Italiana (the national boxing federation) with the support of the Italian Minister of Sports Luca Lotti and Coni (the national Olympic committee). The event will be broadcast live in Italy by Fox Sports.