By: Ste Rowen
The setting was Tuscany Hall in Florence. The prize; the IBF ‘International’ 154lb belt, but despite there being two fighters in the ring, there was only one man ready to bring the night to an early end and silence the Italian crowd as Sam ‘The Savage’ Eggington blitzed Orlando Fiordigiglio inside two rounds to improve his record to 27-6 (16KOs) and secure his first staple win at junior-middleweight.
Photo Credit: Matchroom Boxing Twitter Account
The younger man, Eggington, at 25 made the sharper start as he laid off a steady jab and forced the home fighter onto the back foot through the first round, but it was at the end of the second that the Englishman really made his mark. With less than a minute to go in round two Sam unleashed a savage volley of punches that were constantly unanswered by Fiordigiglio, who despite having the crowd behind him, couldn’t force himself off the ropes or avoid the referee stepping in to end the night early.
Now the ‘International’ champion at junior-middleweight with the IBF, the ‘Savage’ will be aiming for a high-profile name in the near future whilst the top of the 154lb division remains in a state of the unknown due as it stands.
On the undercard, Luther Clay beat the previously undefeated Italian, Dario Morello to not only move to 12-1 (5KOs) but also jump ahead of his Italian foe into the WBO rankings and enter the top 15. Morello was 15-0 heading into tonight, but over ten rounds, including two knockdowns, the ‘Spartan’ who was getting ahead of himself in talking about future bouts in the pre-fight build-up, was outclassed and ultimately dropped a decision of 98-90 (x3) all for Luther ‘Black Panther’ Clay.
Devis Boschiero claimed a slightly controversial 8th round stoppage due to cuts over Ivan Thomas to claim the IBF ‘Inter-Continental’ super-featherweight title. Though Boschiero improves to 47-6-2 (21KOs), Thomas’ corner felt the cut was caused by an accidental head butt in which case it should have gone to the scorecards. It’s still unknown if Ivan will appeal the decision.