By Marco Bratusch

The first defense of Italian jr. middleweight titlist Vincenzo Bevilacqua is set for tonight against Francesco Lezzi, from Bari, at the baseball stadium inside the Olympic Center Giulio Onesti, in northern Rome.

The 23-year-old Bevilacqua (11-0) won the national belt last March outpointing Luciano Abis via technical decision after 7 rounds. Lezzi (9-7-1, 2 KOs), despite being this one a voluntary defence, actually deserves the opportunity since last January he lost a close and disputed decision in front of former Italian champion Felice Moncelli, and that’s the reason why promoter Davide Buccioni of BBT Production is now giving him a second shot versus another fighter of his stable with the same belt at stake.

Both Bevilacqua and Lezzi, aged 27 and promoted by Round Zero, can definitely be considered more as long-distance counter-punchers than fighters. They have decent jabs and good lateral movements, timing, but fall short of notable power even for national levels. The champion appears to be the smoother of the two men in terms of upper-body movements and gives the perception of getting the best ring I.Q. and punching accuracy, while Lezzi looks stiffer and leaves himself too defensively open at times.

The fight must probably develop as a technical chess-match whether one of them did not decide to play as the aggressor, a possibility that does not seem very likely.