Topping a co-promoted OPI Since 82-Matchroom Boxing Italy show in Milan, Italy, screened on DAZN streaming platform, Birmingham’s Gamal Yafai became the new European junior featherweight champion outscoring former title holder Luca Rigoldi via unanimous decision. The event at Allianz Cloud went on behind closed doors, with no fans in attendance because of the pandemic restrictions.

The southpaw Rigoldi put pressure and stay busy all night, despite Yafai outpowered him every time he was able to counter, finding openings with lateral movements. The defending champion tried to fill the gap in power letting his hand go and controlling the aggression, but Yafai was really dangerous every time he found a home for his left hook. Both men went to the body strong in the fourth round, especually Yafai who landed a couple of hard left hooks to the liver area. Rigoldi (22-2-2, 8 KOs) answered putting on his customary workamlike perfomence and continued to give is best efforts with determination, accepting risks.

At times, Yafai (18-1, 10 KOs) conquered the center of the ring trying to be the boss relying on his heavier hands to push Rigoldi backwards. They both continued to exchange leather to the mid-section in the sixth round, with the challenger Yafai more effective and accurate. The champion proved to be tough and durable with his steady action, however, the challenger seemed to pile up the majority of the rounds on the scorecars landing the more accurate punches. The ninth round was quite exciting, with both men landing continuously up and down, Yafai more accurate, polished and powerful in counter-punching, while Rigoldi more busy and stubborn, always looking to have the final words in the exchanges. From round ten, Yafai seemed to tire a bit and this allowed Rigoldi to have a pretty good final, but the challenger won the last round coming back with the best shots.

After twelve rounds, one judge has 119-109 on his scorcard while the other two judges saw it 116-112, for a fair unanimous decision victory for the new European junior featherweight champion Gamal Yafai, who was a 3-to-1 betting favorite. Rigoldi, close to 28, ended a two-year reign as continental champion and could not ask more from himself in this third defense of the belt.

In the second title fight of the night, longtime IBF junior lightweight champion Maiva Hamadouche (22-1, 18 KOs), form France, defended his belt for the sixth time scoring a seventh-round TKO victory over 23-year-old Nina Pavlovic, from Serbia, celebrating her recently signed contract with Matchroom Boxing. However, the fight prove to be a clear mismatch, with Hamadouche marching on her foe to outland and outpower her opponent since the beginning, scoring knockdowns in round two and five with crisp left hooks to the body. Aside from some weak flurries of sheer pride, Pavlovic (6-4-1, 1 KO) could not give back anything significant and was not able to escape from the corners where Hamadouche had a very easy night to close her in. The Italian referee should have definitely stopped the bout earlier (the same applies for Pavlovic seconds working her corner) to prevent her a punishment, especially when it was already clear that the challenger was not able to do anything better than taking punches.

In a bout arranged in the last three days after former two-time European champion Francesco Patera tested positive for coronavirus, former WBO world title challenger Devis Boschiero, 39, had to dig deep to edge Venezuela’s Samuel Gonzalez (29-9, 13 KOs) for a ten-round split decision. Boschiero, the shorter fighter, tried to be the aggressor early and to set his pace high. Gonzalez boxed on his backfoot, alongside the ropes, more conservatively. He started to come forward himself too in the second round, though, making the fight more interesting. Boschiero (49-6-2, 22 KOs) looked the quicker and busier man but Gonlazez, naturally bigger than him being a junior welterweight, appears he can catch and began to target the body in round three. Having both men an unpolished style, several clinches arose and a few clashes of heads too. Boschiero lost his balance and took a knee after Gonzalez connected with a short right hand at the very beginning of round five, but the referee ruled it a slip. Boschiero continued to stay busy and active but could not land anything really significant becuase his action was a bit messy, with Gonzalez, on the other hand, thorwing less punches but landing the best shots in round six and seven. The Italian boxer found a second wind and banked a good round eight, outworking his too conservative foe, but Gonzalez came back strong in the ninth, making his size and power count, landing some telling shots. Gonzalez boxed behind his jab in the final round, looking the hole to land his vicious right uppercut upstairs, with another clash of heads leading to a cut on the edge of Boschiero’s right eye. The former European champion tried a late rally, but the bout looked very close overall. Finally, judges saw the contest as a split decision: 96-94 twice for Boschiero, and the very same card for Gonzalez. Which likely means that Francesco Patera will still be the next opponent for Boschiero down the line, early in 2021.

In an eight-round, stay-busy fight, European junior welterweight champion Sandor Martin (37-2, 13 KOs) made his southpaw skills, quickness, and pressure together to secure a lopsided unaimous decision over 19-year-old opponent Nestor Maradiaga (8-10-1, 4 KOs), from Nacaragua. The Spaniard dominated the bout in evey department, rocking Maradiaga several times, but could not close the fight earlier since Maradiaga somehow found his composure back every time and looked to land a wide counter at times. Martin was expected to take on EBU mandatory challenger Enoch Poulsen next, however, speaking in the post-fight interviews he claimed his next opponent will very likely be UK’s Lewis Ritson.