Professional boxing in Germany craves a heroic tale. Wuppertaler Vincenzo Gualtieri now has the great opportunity to deliver it. He is fighting for a major world title in his hometown – one that no boxer from Germany has held for a long time.
There are evenings that can completely change a sports career. Boxing legend Graciano Rocchigiani experienced such a thing on March 11, 1988. When he left the boxing ring that evening, he was on his way to fame: world champion at the large association IBF, the youngest to win a major title in Germany. “Rocky” was never undisputed, always in conflict with the law. But in the 90s he became a real star beyond the sport.
Rocchigiani as a role model and mentor
Vincenzo Gualtieri doesn’t mind being asked about “Rocky” all the time. The parallels are too clear for that, and the ties between the two are too close. Both have Italian roots, both started boxing early. And both have much more in common. “It was a friendship, a family relationship”says Vincenzo Gualtieri in an interview with the sports show.
“Rocky” part of the family
Graciano Rocchigiani discovered the man from Wuppertal when Gualtieri came to train as a boy in “Rocky’s” Duisburg boxing gym. When “Rocky” tried his hand at boxing promoter in 2015, the first thing he did was sign Vincenzo Gualtieri. Until the boxing legend died in a tragic accident in 2018, the two were in close contact and the families are friends. “He will always be a part of me and my family”, says Gualtieri. And he hopes to experience an evening on Saturday (07/01/2023) like his mentor in March 1988.
The IBF world championship belt beckons
Vincenzo Gualtieri gets back in the ring on Saturday. It’s the fight of his life, the fight for the world middleweight championship. As with Rocchigiani, it’s about the title of the big association IBF, how could it be otherwise.
The fact that Gualtieri is allowed to fight for this title is also a stroke of luck. Former middleweight king Gennady Golovkin recently relinquished all his world championship belts. As a result, the middleweight division is being reconfigured and Vincenzo Gualtieri is more or less in the right place at the right time in the IBF rankings.
Chance for boxing in Germany
It’s not just a stroke of luck for Gualtieri – but for professional boxing in Germany as a whole. The last time there was a fight for a comparable title in Germany was in 2016. Since then, boxers have always had to travel abroad. And there they often have a hard time convincing the judges in close fights. Accordingly, since Artur Abraham and Felix Sturm there has not been a boxer from Germany who has won a belt of comparable importance.
“If Vincenzo wins, I think we have a good chance of building on more successful times in boxing in Germany.”says Ingo Volckmann in the Sportschau interview. “We have good boxers in Germany.” Volckmann is the boss of “AGON-Sports”, the boxing promotion where Vincenzo Gualtieri is under contract. He was willing to invest quite a bit for this great opportunity.
US size cut out
Surprisingly, “AGON-Sports” outperformed the US giant “Top Rank” in the bidding process for the right to hold the fight, the company of promoter legend Bob Arum. “I always tell my boxers: ‘If we go to England or America, you have to win two more rounds than in Germany, otherwise you won’t win the fight'”according to Volckmann. “That’s why we really wanted to bring the event to Germany.”
The opponent is the favourite
Despite playing at home, Gualtieri is the outsider. His opponent, Esquiva Falcao from Brazil, was a real top amateur and won Olympic silver in 2012. As a professional he is undefeated in 30 fights, 20 of which he won by knockout. But he has also been missing the really big opponents in his professional vita. And Vincenzo Gualtieri sees his physical advantage: “I’ve often gone over 12 laps. I’m 200 percent in World Championship form”. Falcao has never fought a full-distance fight. In addition, he has not been in the ring for over a year.
Gualtieri’s opponent Esquiva Falcao
“Rocky” parallel as additional motivation
Gualtieri sees it as an advantage for several reasons that the fight takes place in Wuppertal. Because mentor Graciano Rocchigiani also won his first world title in North Rhine-Westphalia – in Düsseldorf, just a few kilometers from Wuppertal. “It will be a good omen that the fight also took place in North Rhine-Westphalia at the time”he says. “Now we’re back in NRW and that’s why I think I’ll leave the ring as a winner.” If that were the case, it might breathe new life into professional boxing in Germany. But it would definitely be one of those evenings that completely change a sports career.