This should be a very competitive fight between two European level fighters who are fittingly fighting for the EBU European Super Bantamweight title. Luca Rigoldi was on a good run before getting a disappointing draw with a journeyman in his last fight over six rounds. I wouldn’t take that result to seriously as it was only a six rounder and he may not have been fully focused for it. Gamal Yafai came out of the amateurs with a lot of hype but after an upset loss and a few injuries his career has stalled and if hes to get to world level he’ll need to win here.
I think both fighters are good fundamentally though I would give the edge to Yafai. I think Yafai is a decent puncher at Super Bantamweight and puts a lot of good work in towards the body. Luca Rigoldi isn’t a big puncher and a lot of his wins haven’t looked great in hindsight as they go on to lose three or four fights in a row. Rigoldi does have the home advantage with the fight being in Italy but I imagine the judges will be from neutral countries due to the fight being for the European title.
I think this will be competitive but Yafai’s better technical skills and especially power will show through especially late in the fight which will lead to him getting a decision win. I still think he has a lot of untapped potential however I may be wrong and perhaps he’s just not as good as many people thought he could be.
Boxing Fulcrum 