By Marco Bratusch

Last Friday night at the Pabellòn de Basket of Castellbisbal, Cataluña, Spain, local featherweight Marc Vidal (10-1-4, 4 KOs) won the vacant European title outpointing his countryman Sergio “Maestrito” Blanco (23-4-1, 6 KOs) via split decision after twelve rounds. Scores were 116-111, 114-113 for Vidal, and 114-113 for Blanco. It was a historical night for Spanish boxing as the bout represented the first time ever that two Catalunian fighters squared off for the European title, a crown that was relinquished in June by former title holder Dennis Ceylan. The card was promoted by Ricardo Sanchez Atocha’s Rimer Box.

The slightly taller Vidal took the center of the ring early, throwing punches in bunches although his blows didn’t look powerful. However, he was the clear aggressor throughout the bout. Blanco counter-boxed him well at times, maintaining a good balance on his legs while stepping aside along the ropes and countering with some clean punches, but his workrate appeared poor comparing to Vidal’s non-stop action. The fight developed fairly and the action was steady and smooth, consequentially Italian referee Guido Cavalleri didn’t have to break the action although a couple of accidental clashes of heads marked boxers’ faces lightly during mid rounds.

In round twelve, Vidal’s workmanlike performance paid off as he decked Blanco with a wide right hook, practically securing his victory. “El Maestrito” looked a bit shaken as he got up, but he managed to recover until the final bell.